Tehzeeb... Lucknow

Finally went to a new place. I had been to Lucknow over the weekend and spent a day going all over Lucknow. It’s a city soaked in ‘tehzeeb’ where kebab walas when rushed don’t say ‘ek minute’ but say ‘janab thairiye tho sahi’.
This visit was a gastronomical delight where I feasted on the best non vegetarian food from gilavati and kakori kababs, to nihari gosht to bhuna gosht, from dum biryani to chicken avadhi with generous amounts of rabri and thandai.
I also had a few very nice experiences during the trip, like being present at the chota imambara during the namaz with an elderly gentleman guiding me on what to do, listening to ghazals in a bar called mehfil with the singer asking me ‘kya farmaish hai aapki’ to even chatting up with a Bengali construction supervisor in La Martineire, Lucknow.
I immensely enjoy sightseeing and so went all around Lucknow, both the Chota Imambara and the Bada Imambara. In fact in the bhool bhulaiya there the guide showed me the origin of the term ‘deewaron ke bhi kaan hothe hai’ by speaking in the opposite wall over a hundred feet away. I also managed to get lost in the bhool bhuliya when the guide asked me to lead him. The place I liked most was the Residency. In fact there s something about our family and ruins, as we all love exploring ruins. So I spent a lot of time going through every part of the residency including cemeteries covered in weed. I also ended up disturbing quite a few couples who were enjoying the secluded lush greenery prevalent here. I ended the trip with a drive around the old parts of the city and a visit to the famous Lucknow zoo which I was surprised to see is in fact very well maintained. Oh yeah not to forget the kababs I picked up for my friends from Tunde Kabab in Ameenabad.
This was a city I had been wanting to visit for a long time and if nothing else will endeavour to bring a little bit more decency into this crazy city of ours.