A For Prayagraj: A Short Biography Of Allahabad
In A for Prayagraj, a young writer returns to his hometown to reclaim its stories and histories lost to monochrome. As he accompanies the city�s residents�from a whisky-swigging criminal lawyer to parkour athletes to language coaches, poets, and theatre artists to a closeted Grindr date�into their cityscapes, the lines between the past and present start to blur. In the chapter �McAloo Tikki in Allahabad�, we dive into the different pools of the city�s pasts. In �Saam Daam Gun Bhed� we look at crime, strategies of survival, and the crucible of street law. �Bakaiti� is a guide through the older and newer spaces of the city�s creativity. �Apna Time Aayega� deals with education and unemployment. �F for Fyaar, F se Firaq� is a love story, both literary and digital. Part memoir, part reportage, part travelogue, this book renders Allahabad as neither ageing and grey, nor polarized saffron�instead we see a sangam of contrasts. In one of the oldest living cities in the world, new things have materialized and others have disappeared, but the city endures.
Categories: History / Modern / 21St Century
