I was up early, before five in the morning, as we had a train to catch. We were headed for Jaunpur City, about 228 km from Lucknow, in a region of Uttar Pradesh called Purvanchal. I have always loved traveling by train in this region, and once again, we had to take a two-hour ride to our destination. It was early morning, but the train was on time. There were lots of Europeans on the train. Varanasi, where we boarded the train, is a hotspot for spiritual travelers from around the world. Just the other day, I saw a Jewish rabbi standing on the road, watching the city traffic along with his wife. I greeted him and even had a brief chat with the friendly Jewish man who had come to explore God and spirituality, Indian-style.
Jaunpur City: Purvanchal
I, for one, have a deep connection with this city, and I was determined to travel further into the Purvanchal region. That’s why we decided to first visit Jaunpur City. I arrived at the Jaunpur railway station within two hours. It was a very modest station with just one main shop selling cold drinks and chips. The station was small. My first observation about the city was that it is a small town, but it has very crowded markets. There are enough cars and scooters on the road to cause a traffic jam anywhere. Gomti and Sai are its main perennial rivers. Besides these, the city also has smaller rivers like Basuhi, Varuna, Pili, Mamur, and Gangi, which divide the entire district into four distinct halves.
When we reached the hotel, I caught up on some much-needed sleep. By late afternoon, my friend Tiwari and I decided to venture out into the city. We wanted to see the Chhath Puja festival that was going on that day and take a scooter ride across the rivers and bridges of Jaunpur. We passed through busy marketplaces, mosques, and riverbanks. The sunset brought with it a bit of a chill. It’s November, and the winter has almost set in.
I was dying to taste the most famous sweet of Jaunpur, called Imarti, but I had to wait. Tiwari wanted to take me to a famous chain of restaurants that served Batti Chokha. It was wonderful and gave me a real feel of rural Uttar Pradesh. I sat down on a charpoy and then had a matka kulfi with lassi. It was delicious, and I was beginning to get the first real feel of this city, where we intended to spend the next three days exploring many of its wonders.
Jaunpur City and district are famous for their many ancient forts, qilas, bridges, and mosques. That is what we plan to explore during our stay here.
The Atala Masjid, the Shahi Qila, and the Shahi Pul are must-see attractions, along with the Jama Masjid, Sheetala Mata Chukiya, and Masjid Lal Darwaza. There is a lot to see in this city, and I’m looking forward to exploring it.
