Chowk is a neighborhood in

Prayagraj Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is the historic

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

of Old

. It is one of the oldest & largest business markets of India & lies in old Prayagraj. The landmark of this market is historic Prayagraj Clock Tower, built in 1913, also known as Chowk Ghantaghar.

History

Chowk is a historical point, where once stood the

Neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, margosa, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of the two species in the genus '' Azadirachta''. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of S ...

tree where numerous freedom fighters were hanged in the first

Indian War of Independence The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

. The old church is situated here. The

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...

passed through Chowk in its early days. The area once had, residence of Pt

Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist, and politician affiliated with the Indian National Congress. He served as the Congress President twice, from 1919 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1929. He was a patriarch ...

and his son,

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, the first

Prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, Jawaharlal Nehru was born in an area called Mir Ganj, which is now the notorious

red light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

, (which is now closed as per PIL filed and action taken by Highcourt Allahabad) Other dignities from this area are Pt

Madan Mohan Malviya Madan Mohan Malaviya (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946; ) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and activist notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress three times and ...

and Pt

Hariprasad Chaurasia Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1 July 1938) is an Indian music director and classical flautist, who plays the bansuri, in the Hindustani classical tradition. Early life Chaurasia was born in Allahabad (1938) (present day Prayagraj) in the Indian ...

Geography

Chowk is situated in southern part of Prayagraj Municipal Corporation. It is part of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

plain with

alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

soil.

Amenities

The main market of

is a traditional bazaar, with products from garments to spices, sweets

papad A papadam (also spelled poppadom, among other variants), also known as papad, is a snack that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Dough of Vigna mungo, black gram bean flour is either Deep frying, deep fried or cooked with dry heat (flipped ...

s and vegetables in the morning. Loknath Gali is its heart as well as its stomach, with a food court, for traders and shoppers. Here, the chatterati of

congregate, to gossip and eat. A typical Loknath Gali evening follows this course: one start from the northern end of the street—the city side—and sauntered to the end of the lane at the Baba Loknath Temple (the area was called Sarai Meer Khan before the temple was built), sampling the fare on offer along the way. The first course is often an assortment of Nirala's

chaat Chaat, or chāt (IAST: ''cāṭ)'' () is a family of savoury snacks that originated in India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre or at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across South Asia in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. ...

, followed by dahi

jalebi ''Jalebi'' is a popular sweet snack in the Indian subcontinent, West Asia and some parts of Africa. It goes by many names, including ''jilapi'', ''zelepi'','' jilebi'', '' jilipi'', ''zulbia'', ''zoolbia'', ''jerry'', ''mushabak'', ''z'labia'' ...

kulfi Kulfi () is a frozen dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent. It is often described as "traditional Indian ice cream". Kulfi originated in 16th-century Delhi during the Mughal era. It is part of the national cuisines of India and Pakistan a ...

faluda. Shaukeens (

connoisseur A connoisseur (French language, French Reforms of French orthography, traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge ...

in English), stop by for

bhang Bhang (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Bhāṅg'') is an Cannabis edible, edible preparation made from the leaves of the Cannabis (drug), cannabis plant originating from the Indian subcontinent. ''Cannabis sativa'' ...

kulfi or bhang thandai, and while waiting for kimam-khushbu

paan Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects, the prima ...

at the end of the stroll, order Hari namkeen's masala

samosa A samosa () () (Hindi: समोसा) ( Persian: سمبوسه) is a fried South Asian and West Asian snack. It is a pastry with a savory filling that mostly consists of vegetables like spiced potatoes, onions, and peas, but can also include ...

to be packed for home. Hanuman Prasad Darbari Lal is one of the oldest

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

shops, in business since 1808.

Culture

During Dusherra festivals Chowk is crowded with tens of thousands of people for watching the Chowkis of Pajava and Patherchatti

Ramlila Ramlila or Ramleela (; literally 'Rama's lila or play') is any dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' or secondary literature based on it such as the '' Ramcharitmanas''. It particular ...

committees, that adorn their chowkis in competition.

Education

The past exists in easy harmony with the present. In one of the many narrow lanes someone will point out a building that is falling apart—the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Mahavidyalaya, set up by Pandit

, and still functioning. There is one

Bharati Bhavan Library Bharati Bhavan Library a Hindi and Urdu public library in Allahabad, India. The library was established in 1889 by the joint efforts of Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya and Mr. Bal Krishna Bhatt of Chowk, Allahabad. History Brij Mohan Lal Bhalla was h ...

which has lot of old manuscripts in Hindi languag
1

Transport

Autorickshaw (carriage) used to ply to Katra, Prayagraj and other places. Public transport consist of

cycle rickshaw The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...

. Roads are narrow and congested as its part of old city with little scope for expansion.

References

Allahabad PhotosAllahabad TodayArticle in outlook India magazine

External links

Old chowk YoutubeChowk at night
{{Allahabad landmarks Neighbourhoods in Prayagraj