Prayagraj
Where the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati converge—the holiest confluence in Hinduism. The 2019 Kumbh Mela drew 240 million visitors in 49 days. Birthplace of Indian independence politics (Nehru family), renamed from Allahabad in 2018.
Every twelve years, 100 million people come to Prayagraj for a bath. The Kumbh Mela—the world's largest peaceful gathering—takes place at the Triveni Sangam, where the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers converge. The 2019 Kumbh attracted 240 million visitors over 49 days, creating a temporary city of pontoon bridges, tent hospitals, and sanitation systems that would qualify as infrastructure for a medium-sized nation. Prayagraj exists because these three rivers meet here—a geographic fact that Hindu cosmology elevated into the holiest bathing site in India.
The city was called Prayag for millennia before the Mughal Emperor Akbar renamed it Allahabad ('City of God') in 1583 and built a massive fort at the confluence. The British made Allahabad the capital of the United Provinces (later Uttar Pradesh) and the administrative hub of northern India. The Indian National Congress was founded here in 1885. Jawaharlal Nehru grew up in Anand Bhawan, the family mansion. The city's political pedigree—Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi all have roots here—is unmatched in Indian history. In 2018, the BJP government renamed it Prayagraj, restoring the pre-Mughal name.
The University of Allahabad, founded in 1887, was called 'the Oxford of the East' and trained generations of India's civil servants, lawyers, and politicians. The Allahabad High Court is one of India's most important. But the city's economy has not kept pace with its institutional prestige. Industry is limited; most employment is in government services, education, and the pilgrimage economy. Prayagraj functions as an administrative and judicial capital without the commercial dynamism of Delhi, Mumbai, or even nearby Lucknow.
The Kumbh Mela remains the city's defining economic event—and its most extraordinary logistical achievement. Managing 240 million visitors requires the kind of temporary infrastructure that most permanent cities can't match. Prayagraj is a city that peaks every twelve years and spends the rest of the cycle preparing for the next one.