Allahabad

Allahabad is well known for its sporting activities in the fields of Cricket, Badminton, Tennis and Gymnastics. There are several sports complexes that can be used by both amateurs and professionals. These include the Madan Mohan Malaviya Cricket stadium, Mayo Hall Sports Complex and the Boys' High School & College Gymnasium. There are several swimming facilities throughout the city as well. Allahabad has a prominent place in Indian Gymnastics. It is the leading team in SAARC and Asian countries. Khelgaon Public School at Jhalwa, Allahabad provides training in Gymnastics. Khelgaon Gymnasts won two Gold and 3 silver medals at 33rd Tulit Peter Memorial Cup-2007 held at Hungary. The largest icon of Indian hockey till date, Major Dhyanchand, was born on August 29, 1906, in Allahabad. He won gold medal in three successive Olympic games: Amsterdam Olympics 1928, Los Angeles Olympics 1932 and Berlin Olympics 1936. Mohammed Kaif, Indian cricket player, is from Allahabad. Another prominent sporting personality from Allahabad is Abhinn Shyam Gupta who won the National title of badminton in 2002.

The SangumSome places of interests in Allahabad are:

Sangam and around, particularly in December to February, when Kumbh Mela is going on.
Anand Bhavan and Jawahar Planetarium.
New Yamuna Bridge, Yamuna bank road.
Company Bagh, Alfred Park and Allahabad Museum.
Allahabad High Court building
All Saints Cathedral - was built in Century Gothic Style in 13th Century. Also commonly known as Patthar Girja Ghar, this cathedral stands at a prominent location of the city in lush green premises. It figures among the finest Cathedrals of India. Though it was consecrated in 1887, it took another 40 years for it to be completed.
Allahabad University, established on 23 September 1887, is the fourth oldest University of India after Calcutta, Bombay and Madras University. Its sprawling 320 acre campus in the middle of the city has many heritage buildings.
Ewing Christian College - American and Victorian Era architecture; the College was established by American Presbyterians in 1902 by the banks of the river yamuna

Varanasi

Varanasi is a city of temples. Almost every road crossing has a nearby temple. Such small temples form the basis of daily local prayers and other rituals. But there are many large temples too, erected at different times through out the history of Varanasi.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple, also called Golden Temple, which in its present shape was built in 1780 by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, is located on the outskirts of the Ganga. This temple makes Varanasi a place of great religious importance to the Hindus, as Vishweshwara or Vishwanatha, the aforementioned Jyotirlinga of the Lord Shiva is enshrined here. It is said that a single view of Vishwanatha Jyotirlinga is considered to merit more than that of other jyotirlingas. A Naubatkhana was built up in front of the Temple by the collector Mohammed Ibrahim Khan at the instance of Governor General Warren Hastings in 1785. In 1839, Punjab Kesari, the Jat-Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab donated gold to cover the two domes of the temple. On January 28, 1983 the Temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh and its management was transferred to a trust with Late Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh, then Kashi Naresh, as president and an executive committee with Divisional Commissioner as chairman.

The temple was once destroyed by the Muslim Emperor Aurangzeb who built a mosque over it. It was later resurrected at a location near the mosque, and is many times a cause of local strain among Hindus and Muslims.

Durga Temple, also nicknamed "Monkey temple," was built at some point of time in 18th century. The temple got the name 'Monkey temple' because of the presence of large number of monkeys in the temple. According to legends, the present statue of Goddess Durga was not made by man but appeared on its own in the temple. Thousands of Hindu devotees visit the Durga temple during Navratri and other auspicious occasions. Non-Hindus can enter the courtyard of the Durga temple but not the inner sanctum.

The architecture is of Nagara Style, which is typical of North India. The temple is accompanied by a rectangular tank of water called Durga Kund. ("Kund" meaning a pond or pool.) The temple has multi-tiered spires and is stained red with ochre, signifying the red colour of Durga. The Kund was earlier connected to the river itself thus refreshing the water. This channel was later closed, leading to locked water which is replenished only by rain or drainage from the Temple. Every year on the occasion of Nag panchami, the act of depicting Lord Vishnu reclining on the coiled-up mystical snake or "Shesha" is repeated in the Kund.

Sankat Mochan Temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman and is very popular with the local citizens. It is a place for many yearly religious as well as cultural festivals. On March 7, 2006, one of the three explosions carried out by Islamic militants hit the temple, while the aarti, in which numerous worshippers and wedding attendees participated, was in progress.

The new Vishwanath Temple, called Birla Mandir, mainly funded by Raja Birla of the Birla family of industrialists, was built as a replica of the old Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Planned by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the temple is part of the Banaras Hindu University, and stands for national revival. The temple is open to people of all castes and religions.