The land of an unforgettable past, a promising
future, the skies are like a palate of distinctive colors. The sun has been
witness to gallant wars and phenomenal passion, from the fall of an empire and
the rise of a colony from a land of tradition and culture to a land of
modernization, from being its own master to being a slave. The old trees that
carry the roots of its enduring culture, each day, remind the people of who
they are. The awe-inspiring Gomti River reflects the renaissance of every field
ranging from food to poetry, from art and architecture to politics and music.
This is the land of ‘Nawabs’, the city that rose from the ashes to unfold its
wings and soar. This city is Lucknow.
In my first year, I always wondered what it
would be like discovering a place, rather a unique aspect of that place. It
sounded so electrifying and I just couldn’t wait to encounter what my seniors
had experienced. They had such enthralling stories to tell, which motivated me
even further. Soon I was in my second year, and it was my turn now to have one
of the few life changing experiences. My whole batch was on their toes deciding
where to go and what it would be like. Every conversation that we had earlier
was something to do with other people or our subjects but now the only
conversations we had was about Discover India Project.
No sooner did the time come when we had
to submit our chosen place, ours was Lucknow. I had never been to Lucknow; in
fact no one from my group had been to Lucknow so we were all looking forward to
our journey. Various questions found their way into my head, is this the place
I really want to visit, what if the place doesn’t turn out to be any different
than I thought it would be, but then again one has to think positively. Immense
amount of work began. Pre-field research was a must. Hours turned into days and
days into months. Finally the countdown had begun. Researching about Lucknow
was a real delight. Most of the books or articles I read about Lucknow, spoke
essentially of the ‘courtly manners’, the food, the music and the embroidery.
The big day had arrived. This time around,
it was my turn to tell my juniors, alluring stories about Lucknow. There was just one thing that was bothering
me, travelling by train. It was an experience I vaguely remember. However, this
train journey is something I will never forget; it was so picturesque, the
green fields, the brown hills, the tiny village huts, the cattle scattered
grazing in the fields. I just couldn’t wait to get to Lucknow. Every station we
stopped at, the wait grew unbearable. This experience was going to be
inimitable; I had never travelled so far with friends. I’ve travelled to quite
a few cities with one motive, ‘to holiday’. This time again there was one
motive, not to holiday, but to achieve what we came looking for, something that
no city had, but Lucknow. This instance, I had to look at Lucknow not only
through my eyes but more over through the eyes of the Lucknowiites.
The journey was long yet worthwhile. We had
arrived in Lucknow. As we got off the station we hurried into the auto to head
to our hotel which was situated in New Lucknow. As we travelled from the
station to New Lucknow, there was a huge transformation. The narrow streets had
become wider; the old, dilapidated houses turned into buildings, the tiny shops
had turned into huge malls, the old had become the new!
The people were so hospitable and courteous.
Whenever we lost our way, the auto driver would get down and ask people for
directions and if we got down to look for directions they’d say don’t worry,
please sit, I’ll look for the directions. There was this one incident that I
clearly remember when we were four people standing on the road looking for an
auto. Two autos stopped, both, already hired. One auto had four passengers and
the other was carrying one passenger. The man from the auto got off and sat in
the other auto with four people so that the four of us could sit together in one
auto. This incident just took me by surprise. Never in my nineteen years had I
seen anyone do that in Mumbai. When we told the people about our project, they
were more than willing to help us. They’d give us some suggestions of people and
places we could go to visit. When we interviewed some people they’d patiently
sit and answer all our questions. It was just so overwhelming.
Lucknow is known for its mouth watering
kebabs, being a vegetarian there was not a lot of places I could go visit. But
the sweets and the ‘chaats’ were so appetizing, especially the ‘paani puri.’
The ‘Chikan’ and ‘Ari-Zardozi’ embroidery was
so opulent. On one side you have the Chikan Kari work which was so simple yet
stylish and on the other, you have the Ari-Zardozi embroidery which is so grand
yet elegant. The embellished clothes were so beautiful, they spoke to me. They
whispered, ‘pick me.’ Every street I went to had plenty of shops selling these
well-stitched clothes. Studying about how these clothes were actually made was
so intriguing. I had the benefit to speak to several craftsmen. Each of their
work was so inspiring and fine.
The architecture was magnificent. I was
awe-stricken looking at the monuments. The strategy and the design that the
architect had thought of was just surreal. It was really heart breaking to know
that most of these monuments that were built with such grandeur were actually
looted by the British. Even after losing its wealth, the monuments never lost
its pride.
There was something about these
Lucknowiites. Their unity was unmatchable. You can’t tell a Hindu from a
Muslim. There was so much peace and harmony, the aura you get from the place is
so chaste. Their language was sweeter than any other I had heard. It was so
respectful and soft that one automatically tends to reciprocate in that
manner. When you ask the people the reason
behind their tolerance towards a Hindu or towards a Muslim, they just reply,
‘it runs in our DNA,’ they were never taught to be tolerant, they just knew.
The Nawabs weren’t even Indian; they were
descendants of the Persian race. Not only did they understand and learn the Indian
culture but also imparted their ethnicity to their subjects. Hence, Lucknow was
an amalgamation of both these cultures, thus giving rise to this idiosyncratic
element that no other city had seen or possessed. This city stands as proof to
the test of times. Never has it had communal riots. The Hindus observe Mohram
here and the Muslims celebrate Holi. Muslims have built temples while Hindus
have constructed mosques. While the Muslims here are mostly craftsmen, the
Hindus are sellers. It is astounding to see this culture yet, which has been
passed on years after years. This city
just shows how rich India was as a country not only monetarily but also
culturally. This city brought me closer to India than I ever was. This city may
not have the best of malls, or the best of hotels or the best of buildings but
this city certainly has the best of people. Lucknow doesn’t need any of these
things because they have what no other city has, the unity, the kindness and
the much refined culture.
In conclusion, I’d like to quote Greg
Anderson, “Focus on the journey, not the destination.
Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” To me D.I.P was not just another credit
course but it was an experience that is imprinted in my mind, it certainly was
life-changing. I don’t think any book can teach you what this experience
teaches you. It’s something that you don’t write or talk about because you
cannot express it, it’s something you feel.
Sanika Shah
FSLE-3
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