LUCKNOW

By RITU AGARWAL ROHATGI

Lucknow is of course home, and home can do no wrong. But during a recent visit i realised what a lovely, short getaway, it makes from Delhi. A 40-minute flight or an overnight train brings you to the city of nawabs.

it is a sensory explosion as you walk down some of the most evocative streets in india—the goats on scooters during Eid; the cycle rickshaws creating chaos on the roads, stray cows adding to the melee; silver being beaten into paper by hundreds of guys in little cupboard shops to rhythmic beats—the chaat, chikankari, architecture, art, kebabs and more merge to form some magical moments.

The whole ‘Avadh glamour, is of course, totally lost somewhere in the current-day dust and grime of uttar Pradesh but every time i go back, there are still some things which are on my must-do list.

At the top of the list these days is a leisurely stroll down the renovated Hazratganj, which has got a magical makeover on the completion of 200 years of this historic city. no trip to Lucknow is complete without‘Ganjing. with many malls sprouting in Lucknow, an activity that is losing out is a leisurely evening stroll down Hazratganj, Lucknows very own Park Avenue, with the setting sun casting a golden hue and the breeze whispering in your ears. start from Halwasia Market and walk towards the GPo crossing which marks the end of the avenue. Today it stands lined with cast-iron Victorian lampposts, cobbled wide footpaths, green patches with benches, all adding up to a lovely walk.

in Lucknow, you must sample some local chaat There are the giants like king of chaat and Moti Mahal. And then there is the unpretentious but forever busy shukla chaat stall on shanazaf Road dishing out amazing paani ke bataashe (Lucknavi for gol gappa). The aloo tikkis here are fried golden crisp in pure desi ghee.

Look beyond Tunde kebabs and head to a little gulli behind the Gymkhana club to sakhawats for some of the most amazing mutton shami kebabs and handkerchief thin roomali rotis. The menu includes boti kebab and kakori and of course the melt-in-the-mouth galaavat and also seekh kebabs.

This is the city of nawabs, dont forget, and some royal pastimes are immortalised by the likes of the hauntingly melodious Bhairavi Thumri Babul mora naihar chhuto jaaye, composed by wajid Ali shah, the last nawab of oudh. Today, you can head to the contemporary settings of the rooftop restaurant falaknuma in Hotel clarks Avadh. Besides Avadhi cuisine the restaurant dishes out some great ghazals. You will find sanjeev Anupam on the mike rendering some classics as the Gomti River shimmers in the backdrop of a lit-up Hanuman sethu bridge. soak in the mood and the moment which often defined shaam-e-Avadh in the days gone by.

There is also exquisite chikankari embroidery to shop, the glorious chankya kulfi to eat, the wily Bhool Bhulayiya to crack at the Bada imambara…

This may turn out to be one short break you would like to extend!