ALLAHABAD.
The fortress of Allahabad was built by Akbar Shah in 1581. On the 11th February, 1765, the governor of the fort, Alī Beg Khan, surrendered it to the Company’s troops, under the command of Major Fletcher, and marched out with his garrison, under safe conduct. Thus in one week Chunar and Allahabad, the two most important fortresses in Shuja-oo-Dowlah’s possession, fell without loss into the hands of the English.
The fortress is erected upon a point of land, stretching out into the waters at the junction of the sacred rivers. One of the holiest places on the Ganges is pointed out by numerous flags at the spot where it joins the Jumna, just below the fort. The Saraswati is supposed to unite with them underground, whence the junction is called Trivenī, or Tribenī. This spot is so holy, that a person dying there is certain of immediate moskh, or beatitude, without risk of further transmigration. The blue waters of the Jumna contrast strongly at the junction with the muddy hue of the waters of the Ganges. On the sands below the fort, the Bura Mela, or great fair, is held annually; it lasts about two months, and attracts devotees and merchants from all parts of India. At that period, also, lākhs and lākhs of natives come to Prag; they make pūja, shave, give money to the Fakīrs, and bathe at the sacred junction. Suicide committed at the Benī is meritorious in persons of a certain caste, but a sin for a Brahman! The ancient city of Prag, acquired the name of Allahabad from the Musalmān conquerors of India.
The buildings occupied by Shah Allum when he resided in the fort, still retain traces of their former grandeur, and some of the apartments command a fine view of the Jumna that flows beneath. An enormous pillar, formerly prostrate near the gateway in the fort, has been set up on a pedestal, under the superintendence of the late Colonel Edward Smith. The natives call it Bhīm Singh ké lāt, that is, Bhīm Singh’s walking-stick: some of the inscriptions on the lāt are in unknown characters—those of the mighty dead, who have disappeared from the earth, leaving records imperishable, but incomprehensible.
The steam vessels and tugs which navigate the Ganges from Calcutta terminate their voyage at Allahabad.
