Lucknow. For the world, it is the City of Nawabs.

For me, it is a piece of my heart.

Not because I call this place home, but because it accepted me with open arms and not only gave me lifelong friends, and experiences to cherish, but also the wings to fly. All to a small-town girl with big dreams and even bigger determination.

Graduation, post-graduation, and even my first job, Lucknow was the start of it all. I have covered every inch of this city and to such lengths that I ended up making records with my Activa. I used to ride 100-125 km in a day which I am still proud of, but that’s not the story.

Today, even after more than 20 years, I vividly remember the day I fell in love with Lucknow.

I had cracked the Isabella Thoburn College, (BSc Maths) but decided to pull out of it to get admitted to BBA. But as destiny would have it, instead of SPCJ Agra, I had to settle with Lucknow, despite securing the 19th rank out of 1000 students. God’s plan are always better.

That’s how I landed in Lucknow, and it was going to be my first experience of living in a hostel. It had been a few months but most of us hadn’t seen the city.

So, when our professor popped the idea of showing us a few places and acquainting us with the city, we readily agreed. It was a good excuse to avoid boring mess food for a day after all.

On a sunny day in December, 13 of us started our journey, pure joy palpable on our faces.

Our 1st stop was our professor’s house and we were given a warm welcome. Whatever homesickness I had, evaporated along with the hot masala tea we were served.

Lucknow Zoo was next. The choice was odd but where else would you get a place to sit, chit-chat, and enjoy free-wheeling conversations? I still remember the ‘Sahara Baal Mail’ toy train ride, the 1st toy train ride in my life and I loved every bit of it!

Sahu Cinema at Hazratganj has such a presence you just can’t miss. We watched ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhna’ movie and even today, I still hum ‘Kissa hum likhenge dile bekarar ka’ without even realizing it.

The Spicy Bite restaurant at Tulsi theatre building where we had food was a symbol of coolness in the 90s, and having ice cream after the food was like a ritual. Needless to say, we did it.

But the best part of the day was remaining yet.

It was the last day of Lucknow Mahotsav and we decided to visit. The minute I stepped in, the myriad of colors of handicraft items from entire India, the sounds of beautiful performances happening on the stage, the aroma coming from the food stalls, the joyful faces screaming on fun rides, it was a beautiful site, an amalgamation of pure happiness and love.

The air had such a beautiful vibe that I soaked myself, and absorbed it for life.

That day also did something magical. It laid out the foundation for a few lifelong friendships.

Shall narrate that story soon.

After all “Yadein mithai ke dibbe ki tarah hoti hain, ek baar khula to sirf ek tukda nahi kha paoge.”