JiBhaiya@gmail.com
New Delhi, India
The city of Allahabad in north central India is situated near the confluence of two big rivers ? the Ganga and the Yamuna. Both these are perennial rivers which rise in the upper Himalayas and are fed by the waters of many glaciers. As the rivers meander towards their meeting point they are joined by smaller rivers such as Ram Ganga and Chambal.
Ram Ganga flows through the Corbett Wildlife Park known for its tigers, elephants and fresh river trout. Chambal flows through treacherous ravines and is known for its dacoit gangs and crocodiles.
The river front in Allahabad is truly magnificent. In medieval times, Moghul Emperor Akbar built a large fort straddling the right bank of Ganga and left bank of Yamuna as a strategic defense of the city of Prayag Raj. Akbar renamed the city Allahabad. Allahabad is known for its spiritualism, culture and education. The University of Allahabad is one of the oldest Universities of Asia.
The beauty of the riverfront is enhanced by three magnificent Railway bridges built under British Rule. When in full spate during the rainy season, Ganga is about 5 or 6 kilometers wide while Yamuna is about 2 or 3 kilometers wide. After Yamuna joins Ganga at the confluence point, the holy Triveni Sangam, Ganga assumes a gigantic size and flows on towards the Bay of Bengal, passing through the holy city of Varanasi and the ancient city of Pataliputra (modern Patna).
A boat ride on the placid Yamuna is the favourite pastime of the people of Allahabad. In the early 1950s large luxury boats called BAJRAs could be seen tied to strong pegs driven into the river bed or to the trees on the river bank. A Bajra could seat 40 to 50 people comfortably in cushioned seats which were fixed around a central raised platform on which performers with musical instruments would sit and present Kajri a genre of folk songs dedicated to beauty, love and romance. One particular Kajri that I recall from my childhood had these words ..
Sakheeri Piya Nahin Ghar Aayey
My beloved has not yet returned home,
Ghir-ghir aayee badariyaa naa
Look how overcast the sky has become !
The boat ride would generally be planned for evening hours on a full moon night. Picnickers would arrive dressed in fine muslin Dhotis and Kurtas (a typical dress combo for men in summers) with rose and khus perfume making the night air lightly fragrant. Delectable eatables will be brought from the famous shops of the city ? Sulakiram?s, Netram?s for sweets and Hariram?s for salted delicacies. Some of these famous shops have been selling their goodies for generations.
Ladies and children would be excluded from these picnic boat rides for the sake of safety and may be for modesty too, since there would be Bhang and Thandai (cold drinks laced with intoxicants) prepared on the Bajra itself and, at least in the earlier years of 1930s and 1940s Mujra (song and dance programme of professional women singers and dancers).
The Bajra would be untied when the moon rose in the sky and allowed to float in the slow current of the Yamuna. It will be guided by MALLAHs a professional group of rovers. There would be no attempt to raise the speed. Nerves will be completely soothed by the time the Bajra would return to the starting point at about midnight. Professional cooks would keep hot dinner ready on the river bank. In deference to the holiness of the river, meat preparations and liquor would not be served.
There are no Bajras on the river today. The languid pace of life of yesteryears has been replaced with the fast paced routines of the modern world. You may still hear strains of music wafting from motorized boats on the river. But the music is from i-Pods, mobile phones and other electronic equipment. Liquor is no longer taboo. Bhang and Thandai have given way to chilled beers. The only thing that has not changed is river Yamuna itself. It continues to flow placidly as it has since times immemorial.
For the river, time has stood still.
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