Express trains roll into Deoria Sadar from Delhi and Kolkata, and the station road fills with e-rickshaws and drivers calling out destinations. A few lanes away in Raghav Nagar, fish circle the big pond around the Hanuman Mandir, and away from the Tuesday crowds the water is often the busiest thing in sight.
Beyond town, roads cross flat green fields to Dugdheshwar Nath near Rudrapur, where Shiva is worshipped well below ground level, and south to Barhaj on the Saryu. Summers are hot, the monsoon soaks June to September, and winters turn cool and misty. A Local Friend knows when to reach a temple early and when to linger by the river at dusk.
