The road from airport
Touch down
The only change in the Airport was the change of name since I last visited the city of Nawabs. Amausi Airport had given way to Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport. I remember the name being changed by the centre during the trust vote over nucleur deal so as to get Ajit Singh to vote in favour of UPA. Ajit Singh and voting and cash for votes scandal had come into limelight a couple of months ago through Wikileaks. Lucknow airport had found no mention in wikileaks as this perhaps was the legal bribery. Ajit Singh finally didn’t vote for UPA but Lucknow airport did get a new name.
It indeed is an international airport as was clear by the Saudi Arabian Airlines jumbo jet on the tarmac. At the time of departure there were 2 lines for security. The first one was for international passengers and the second for the domestic passengers. Both lines ended up in the same departure lounge. There was one difference though - the line 1 people had access to the duty free shop and the glittering bottles of Chivas Regal.
Paradise after Chaos
As you hit the Kanpur road, you know you are in Lucknow. The streets were chaotic with each vehicle trying to hit the other vehicles on the road. Most vehicles were on the wrong side of the road and were pretty comfortable with the idea. All cars, buses and tempo drivers had their one hand on the horn. My taxi driver maneuvered the cab erratically missing a few tempos and rickshaws by a whisker. I couldn’t believe that he did not hit anything on the way. I prepared myself for 30 minutes of chaos when suddenly the cab turned right and we were on swanky new road. On the sides were neat sandstone walls enclosing huge parks. The walls carried on and on and so did the parks. It was a never ending . It all looked pretty majestic. From the cab, one could see some monuments and statues inside the parks. These parks had names like ‘Eco park’, ‘Buddha Sthal‘ and Kanshi Ram Park’. It was tempting to just stop and look inside but I knew that a few minutes will not do justice to these miles and miles of parks. I promised to return when weather was better as these parks looked good for a more detailed visit.
Food fit for Nawabs
It was already 7 PM by the time I reached home, so didn’t feel like going to Chowk or Nazirabad for Tundey kababs in this heat so went to Sapru Marg to their new outlet. Had a couple of Kababs there itself and packed some Mutton Korma, Biryani , Boti Kabab, Shammi Kababs and Sheermals to be had in air conditioning comfort of home while watching an IPL match. As always, the food was amazing. This kind of preparation is difficult to get anywhere else but Lucknow. Korma is relatively less oily than what you get in Delhi; Kababs melt in your mouth; and the smell of Biryani makes you open the box on the way to the house and taste a bit. Not only was this my meal for the next night also but I carried all this stuff to Delhi as well. As always, my friends in Delhi waited for me to come back with this Avadhi food.
Gunj and Gunjing
Hazratgunj, the main market of Lucknow took me with a lot of surprise. My association with Gunj ( popular name for Hazratgunj) was not restricted to Gunjing ( during our time this meant-roaming in Hazratgunj and looking at girls from Loreto and Lamartiniere girls), or watching English movies at Mayfair. My grandfather and father had a shop called ‘Modern Novelties’ in the heart of Hazratgunj and this shop remained one of the landmarks of Lucknow till it shut down more than a decade back. It sold everything- cosmetics, packaged food, imported items (a big attraction in 70’s), chocolates, poultry products, video films, music, hot dogs, ham, sausages and even turkey at Christmas time.
There were many small kiosks in the same lane making it a very tight lane to walk in. This lane was known as ’lovers lane’ (for obvious reasons!) till the kiosks were broken down and alternate shops were allotted to the kiosk owners at the newly created Janpath market.
I was visiting Hazratgunj after three years and suddenly it looked posh and fancy. The roads looked broader and footpaths for pedestrians had appeared from nowhere. The roadside parking had been removed; the footpaths broadened; the fancy lamps adorned the sidewalks; illegal hoardings have disappeared; encroachments from footpaths removed to quite an extent ; benches grouted at regular intervals for pleasurable gunjing; and standardized hoardings put for each shop. Though the hoardings’ colours (or non colours) of black and white didn’t appeal to me too much, I felt the whole effort was worth a big applause. The shop keepers of Hazratgunj were happy to hear me praising the market but lamented the fact that faced with decreased footfalls with the advent of swanky air-conditioned shopping malls, lack of parking was proving to be a death knell to their remaining business.
Across the river
The controversial Ambedkar Park in Gomti Nagar across from Taj had just been a trailer for things to come as far as Mayawati was concerned. Ambedkar Park was created during her last reign. Now on coming back to power, Gomti nagar seems to have gone for metamorphosis. I certainly could not believe what I saw of Gomti Nagar . Broad roads, many flyovers, upmarket restaurants, big malls and fancy shops seem to have come from nowhere. But what took the cake was the glittering Gomti Nagar at night. The breathtaking lights adorning the Ambedkar park and its million statues; colourful fountains; broad avenues well lighted up; and once again that sandstone look with which we identify Rastrapati Bhavan and India Gate. It all looked spectacular! Paris will soon face competition from Gomti Nagar for the name of ‘city of lights.’
Maya Memsaab
The Maya magic seems to be working in Lucknow. People generally seemed to be happy with what she was doing. They are quite proud of this new look Lucknow. They feel that she is despotic and autocratic but then the improvement in law and order compensates for a lot of flaws. Her banners and her statues are everywhere. The people feel that Congress has no chance so why to waste the vote. Mulayam Singh and Samajwadi party may make a comeback in other parts of U.P but stand no chance in Lucknow. It seems unlikely that anyone can topple the Queen from her throne in the next few years.
It is not that Lucknow and its people have changed completely. The traffic is still chaotic;the sidewalks and buildings are still stained red with ‘paan spit’; and dirt and filth is still a major feature in many areas. The elegant havelis are giving way to ugly multi storied structures. The heat and paucity of time did not allow me to visit my alma mater , Lamartiniere College or the Old Lucknow or any of the clubs. In the 40 odd hours I had seen quite enough. Sitting in a fancy lounge bar , I considered having a beer. As the waiter took the order, I changed my mind. The occasion demanded something stronger !
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