gorakhpur hit me like a bass drop i wasn’t ready for. i rolled in on a rickety bus from lucknow, drumsticks poking out of my backpack like i was smuggling firewood. the city smells like fried snacks, incense, and that weird sweet dust you only get in uttar pradesh. it’s not trying to be pretty-it just is, and somehow that’s exactly why i liked it.

i just checked and it’s 18.8°c there right now, which feels like someone’s holding a lukewarm cup of tea to your face. perfect for wandering, terrible for sweating through your shirt before soundcheck.

"gorakhpur? that’s where the trains go to die," a drunk guy told me at the station. i almost believed him until i saw the platform chaos-more alive than any mumbai local at rush hour.

my gig was at some hole-in-the-wall called the blue note (not that blue note, trust me). the stage was a plywood plank balanced on beer crates. i kept imagining my kick drum falling through mid-song. locals kept yelling song requests in bhojpuri, and i only knew like three chords, but they cheered anyway. maybe they were just drunk. maybe i was.

if you get bored, lucknow and varanasi are just a short drive away, but honestly? gorakhpur deserves a day or two. the gita press is weirdly calming, and the railway museum has a steam engine you can climb on-great for instagram if you don’t mind the rust stains.

i heard that the sarais are cleaner than the hotels, but i stayed at hotel president anyway because it had a sign that said "24hr hot water" and i needed to wash my cymbals. the water was lukewarm at best, but the chai downstairs was rocket fuel.

*pro tip:* carry cash. ATMs are as rare as a quiet moment in gorakhpur. and if someone offers you pani puri from a cart with no line, politely decline-i learned that the hard way.

this city doesn’t hand you a postcard moment. it slaps you with noise, spice, and a thousand half-finished conversations. but if you’re a touring drummer (or just someone who likes their travel messy), gorakhpur’s got rhythm-even if it’s offbeat.

Check Gorakhpur weather | Train schedules | Local eats on Zomato

Gorakhpur Diaries: Drumsticks, Dust, and a Whole Lot of Chai

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About the author: Gabriel Kent

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