Mirza Ghalib | Manisha Yadav
The journey to Calcutta began from Banda, as Ghalib made his way from there to Allahabad and onwards. The details of the first leg are narrated in Ghalib’s letters to Muhammad Ali Khan. it was slow going because the mule that drew the baggage cart (chikra) was scrawny and sluggish, and could not travel more than 25 miles a day.
After spending a night in an obscure village, the party reached Chilla Tara on the banks of the Jumna (Yamuna). They decided to abandon travel by land and take a boat instead. it turned out that the boat was just as slow. After a week or so, they arrived in Allahabad, on 27 November 1826.