Daraganj

Daraganj is a prominent suburb and a landmark in the city of Allahabad, India. It is the oldest suburb of Prayag at the bank of celestial river Ganges and not far from Triveni Sangam - the confluence of three sacred rivers: the Ganges and Yamuna, and the third invisible river Saraswati.

Location

Situated on the bank of the river Ganges, Daraganj is very cosmopolitan in the sense that a significant mix of Punjabi, Bengali , Marathi , Tamil, Telugu, Kannad and Gujarati communities, apart from natives thrive within a small area. Set up in a small village setting, Daraganj is a mesh of narrow lanes without any road signs. However, all of these lanes inevitably lead to the main road. This is the last bathing Ghat on the river Ganges before it joins the river Yamuna. The name "Daraganj" is presumably derived from the word "Dharaganj" meaning the place of the stream or current of water. Legend also has an alternative explanation that it is named after "Dara Shikoh", the elder brother of Mughal king Aurangjeb who was subsequently killed by Aurangjeb in the power struggle for the throne. Dara Shikoh was known to have studied Hindu Scriptures and translated many of the Upanishads and Puranas into Persian. Presumably, that translation work had taken place at Daraganj.