Thinking of Allahabad conjures up visions of the historic Sangam, the University of Allahabad and the High Court, Hindi-Urdu literature and the freedom struggle that was shaped by many of its eminent families and residents. Sanniddhya, a forum where literature, fine arts and culture converge, will profile the historic city of Allahabad through poetry, prose, song and film.
The ancient name of the city is Prayag and is believed to be the spot where Brahma offered his first sacrifice after creating the world. It is one of four sites of the Kumbh Mela (Hindu pilgrimage sites). The city has a strong position of significance in the Hindu religion and philosophy as it is situated at the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna, as well as the invisible Saraswati. Allahabad has been a seat of great literature which produced Urdu giants like Akbar Allahabadi and Firaq Gorakhpuri and Hindi litterateurs like Sumitranandan Pant, Mahadevi Verma, Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’ and Harivansh Rai Bachchan.
The city is famous for producing a number of prime ministers of India in some form or another. Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Gulzari Lal Nanda, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, and Chandrashekhar were either born in Allahabad, alumni of Allahabad University or elected by a constituency from Allahabad.
The colourful city of Allahabad will be profiled and presented by Lalit Mohan Joshi, Mamta Gupta, Pandit Vishwa Prakash, Uttara Sukanya Joshi, Syed Yavar Abbas, Dr Kusum Pant Joshi and Dr Vijay Rana.