Today was to be an exciting day as we were about to travel to the city of my birth Fatehpur. Yes, this was the city where my mother Rekha gave birth to me on the 10th of May 1974 at 8:30 am in the morning. I would be returning to the city of my Birth after almost fifty years. This was going to be a significant ad very emotional part of my journey though Uttar Pradesh.
We took a train from Prayag Raj Station right to Fatehpur Railway station and I enjoyed the travel and slept all though the two-hour journey. The train had a powerful ac and thus the rail journey was very comfortable.
Luckily, we got a small room in a laical hotel just near the station. Fatehpur is about 120 km from Lucknow and 90 km form Allahabad, it is very well connected by rail, road and a robust bus route to all major Vila’s and cities in Uttar Pradesh. The city is based on the banks of the river Yamuna and Ganga. In one of the Ghat’s called OM Ghat the great sage had mediated and also Witten many of his great works.
I was born in this city in the old Government Hospital my grandfather my nana was the CMO of the Uttar Pradesh and was posted in Fatehpur when my mother conceived me. I spent the first two or three years of my life in Fatehpur and Allahabad. There was a nurse by them name of Raj Rani who looked after me as a nanny, she would bathe me, clean me up and even rub mustard oil on my legs and body to make my joints strong. The lady tends to me very well and I spent a lot of time in her acre in Allahabad as well where my Nana moved to later. But it was Fatehpur where I first took my first breath, and I have a certificate to prove that as well.
The city got its name form Babu Fateh Chandra who helped Rani Laxmi Bai in her freedom struggle.
It has two famous ghats that of Bhitaura and Asani are sacred places in the city and have also been mentioned in the Puran. The total population of the district is 26 lakhs, and it covers an area of 4152 square kilometer. This city proudly stands between to major cities Prayag and Kanpur. Textile and weaving are a major industry of this place but most of its population are into agriculture. Farmers grow wheat, corn and other staple crops here which grow well in its fertile soil enriched by the waters of the two great rivers that flow through Fatehpur City.
The Northern region of this district is influenced by the Awadhi culture and the southern region shows influence of Bundelkhand. This region had a rich culture of dancers, musicians, artists and singers and the region was famous for its Nautanki as well.
In the 17th century Fatehpur was under the control of the Maratha’s till it was taken aways form them by the Pathan’s. The city has a deep and rich history and this is exactly what I want to explore and above all I want to connect with the city where I was born.
