WHEN THE SIGNAL TURNED orange, I slowed down on my Scooty, making the middle-aged man on the bike come to a startled stop next to me. More people started giving me looks when I halted. Two cars ran the red, and after a few bizarre seconds of shooting wary looks at me, most of the vehicles moved on. I was the only one standing at the red light. This was Allahabad in 2016. I was in college, and the first of the traffic signals had just started functioning. However, it still took a year, with threats of penalties and huge fines, and then some, to get more people to follow the traffic rules.
The last time I went home was in September of 2023. Baadi kobe aashbi? (When will you come home?) This phrase comes up in every conversation I have with my grandmother. Home is Allahabad, where the streetlights are often bigger than the roads, where people talk with a lilt, which is at the same time intimidating and oddly endearing. Where more "non-Bengalis" participate in the annual Durga Pujo than Bengalis and where you can never really get lost.
Oscillating between work and an independent life in a big city has somewhat distanced me from my roots. Or so my family thinks. "You've outgrown us," my aunt tells me. I feel like the city is agreeing with her, too. But maybe it's the other way around. The chasm of unfamiliarity seems to increase every time I visit now-a new flyover, trendy cafés, and better-functioning traffic signals.
Things you would think are essentials for any city are only now taking shape in my small but steadily gathering hometown.
Denne historien er fra August - September 2024-utgaven av Outlook Traveller.
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Denne historien er fra August - September 2024-utgaven av Outlook Traveller.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Chutneys For Every Season
GROWING UP IN JHARKHAND, I've always been enchanted by the state's culinary landscape. Here, the local cuisine never fails to surprise with its depth and variety.
BADGE OF HONOUR
IN THE DYNAMIC LANDSCAPE of tourism, where greenwashing often taints sustainability, certifications can help distinguish between genuine efforts and marketing gimmicks. Green certification systems encourage businesses to enhance their environmental credentials.
WHEELS OF TIME
IN 1947, TRAINS CARRYING REFUGEES ACROSS THE BORDER WERE SYMBOLIC OF THE TUMULT OF THE PARTITION.
RAILS OF THE Raj
FROM ITS CONCEPTION TO ITS ROLE IN THE NATION'S HISTORY, THE BRITISH INDIAN RAILWAYS IS A PHENOMENON MARKED AS MUCH BY MARVEL AS AVARICE
THE RHYTHM OF BOLLYWOOD
FROM THE RAILROAD THRILLER MISS FRONTIER MAIL 1936) TO SHAH RUKH KHAN DANCING ON A TRAIN IN DIL SE' 1998), TRAINS HAVE GIVEN UNFORGETTABLE SONG SEQUENCES TO MANY HINDI FILMS
MEMORY'S OASIS
REMEMBRANCES OF GROWING UP IN SEALDAH RAILWAY OFFICERS COLONY IN KOLKATA
A FAREWELL × TO FLAVOURS
FROM CUTLETS AND RAILWAY MUTTON CURRY IN DINING CARS TO THE UNREMARKABLE FARE AVAILABLE TODAY, THE JOURNEY OF FOOD ON THE INDIAN RAILWAY IS FASCINATING
HERITAGE ON THE TRACKS
THE ICONIC DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY, FONDLY CALLED THE TOY TRAIN,' HAS HELD ITS UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE STATUS SINCE 1999
HIDDEN LIVES
SPANNING 65,000 KILOMETRES THROUGH DENSELY POPULATED INDIA, THE RAILWAYS ARE A BACKDROP TO COUNTLESS STORIES. 'THE UNRESERVED' BY FILMMAKER SAMARTH MAHAJAN CAPTURES A FEW
JOURNEYS WITHIN AND WITHOUT
FOR IMTIAZ ALI, TRAIN JOURNEYS ARE TRANSFORMATIVE, OFFERING GLIMPSES OF INDIA'S DIVERSE SOCIETY AND ITS MANY CULTURES AND RELIGIONS
