In the city of Ilahabad, formerly known as Illahabad, there exists a distinct intellectual atmosphere that manifests even in daily interactions. One day at Ilahabad University, two professors from Delhi, after finishing their business, left the university and asked an auto-rickshaw driver to take them to a hotel. During the ride, they began discussing literature.
The first professor stated that Kafka's sense of Alienation is not merely a social division but an existential state, as his characters are detached from their own existence. The second professor countered, arguing that Kafka's absurdity is not a literary device but an existential reality, citing Gregor's metamorphosis as a metaphor for dehumanization.
The first professor continued the debate, noting that the theme of dehumanization is more characteristic of Dostoevsky, whose worldview does not place human reason on any moral foundation. He emphasized that this forms Dostoevsky's psychological and philosophical universe. He then mentioned the story 'The Stranger,' where the protagonist, whose mother is dying, does not cry, and the world condemns him for it.
At that moment, the second professor tried to recall the author's name of this story but could not, feeling confused. Suddenly, from the next row of the auto-rickshaw, a voice rang out: 'Ah, Albert Camus wrote it!' Both professors were stunned, looking at each other, amazed by the knowledge of the Ilahabad auto-rickshaw driver. They asked him if he read literature.
The author notes that this is the 'Ilahabadi flavor'—the intellect inherent in the water of this city, where even a panas seller can share knowledge unavailable in books because this city is populated by educated people such as Akbar Ilahabadi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Another story from Ilahabad is recounted: a delegate from Delhi, who was both a poet and a civil servant, approached Firak Gorakhpuri asking him to write a preface to his collection of poems. Firak agreed, writing a brief description of the author. However, the delegate requested the addition of a phrase stating that this poet had given a new direction to Urdu ghazal. Firak replied: 'Son, do not change the direction, or the ghazal will break. What is written is enough.'
This 'Ilahabadi spirit,' passing through Firak, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, and Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, reflects the mentality of a city where people dream of becoming bureaucrats (IPS, PCS). In Ilahabad, there are no unemployed people, only those awaiting results. At the same time, the city is full of people possessing street smarts.
The narrator recalls the times when the city was called Ilahabad and recounts moving to the city to work in a private company's sales department. The first visit was marked by the feeling that it was a small city lagging behind Mumbai, and that people could be easily deceived here because sellers tend to consider themselves smarter than those around them.
One evening, while walking in the park near his home, the narrator noticed a man sitting on a bench at the entrance, next to whom sat a little girl. The girl was reading a book, making notes with a pen. They looked like hundreds of other park visitors, but there was a noticeable sadness on their faces. The narrator ignored them and started running along the park paths.
After several laps, when he started to get breathless, his gaze fell again on the same pair. The girl continued to look at the book, and the man watched her with longing, seemingly wanting to start a conversation but stopping himself. When the narrator finished his run, the man looked at him. As the narrator crossed his path, the man stood up and began to follow him at a quick pace. The narrator became wary, but the man gestured for him to stop, showing despair. They approached a bench located a little further from the girl, and the narrator stopped.
