THE MISUNDERSTOOD MALE !!!!!!!!!!!
Since the time of Adam and Eve, there have been certain misconceptions about the Men! The general image, on man has always that of a emotionless ,ruthless, unromantic, insensitive and irresponsible human being, who loves to be left to himself, or with his male friends ,to enjoy his sports and TV and hates going out, partying and shopping, who is having a ball of a time, in the family, at the cost of the women, and all that this sex-maniac expects from a woman is sex and more sex!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With all my sincere regards to all the caring, sensitive and emotional ladies, and my respect for their concerned love ,I shall try to touch this eternal story of the GENDER MYTHS ,and at least try to partially break the harsh image of the male gender, in several aspects of life.
Men are very sensitive,caring and emotional,though the ways of expressing may be different and less obvious than the woman. And YES, men cry too! But they are judicious with their feelings and tears and save them for appropriate and deserving moments!!Forgetting dates, or not rattling the expected three worded 143s four times a day, does not make them unromantic. They have their subtle ways of expressing love and romance, which usually goes unnoticed by their better half, who lack the ability to read in between lines, and are deaf to the unsaid sweet nothings! But men are not just saintly goody-goody either. They love gossiping, bitching and even plotting!
Men don't dislike shopping, but they hate window shopping! They would not only accompany women for shopping but actually enjoy meaningful shopping for the seasonal wardrobe for the entire family, gifts on festivals and occasions, and even the monthly grocery or the weekly poultry, but they actually hate mundane, compulsive shopping, especially if further poisoned with queuing for unrequired purchases at sales and involving futile haggling.
Men make better friends, with a meaningful bonding which can last for a life-time and love socializing too, but with people, they gel with. One thing that they cant do is small talk and mixing ,more for a social cause and would rather enjoy an intelligent interactive conversation, than a party full of pretentious page 3 celebrities.
Men are good home makers too,and generally contribute significantly in the running of the house by rendering all possible help to the working wife. They are undoubtedly as loving and doting a parent as the mother can be, and I wouldn't hesitate in adding that not only they contribution significantly in the upbringing a child, their role as a father is often more challenging than the mother, specially during the teens and the adulthood of the children.
With working women, being almost the norm, women are sharing a great deal of the financial load, but the man generally shoulders a bigger share of the stress and overall responsibility of creating a compatible and congenial balance between the work places, home,family and society and in the settlement and future of the kids
Lastly coming to the biggest accusation, that the man faces of being perpetually sex starved. I agree.men love sex. and enjoy it, and find it to be a great tension buster, but unlike the women they are man enough, to accept it openly. Woman need and enjoy sex, as much if not more and have their shares of desires, fantasies and even indulgence, but its just they want to keep it, within their heart, or max within the bedroom!
Men have been a misunderstood lot, and shall continue to be so, and after some time they just give up and stop worrying about their indifferent and in sensitive image or doing anything to change it. But on behalf of all the men,I would like to tell the ladies, that most husbands love their wives a hundred times more than what they can show or express and definitely a thousand time more than what the wives think !
Sanjay,Lucknow
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
ARUSHI MURDER CASE & HONOUR KILLING
>ARUSHI MURDER CASE--------------HONOUR KILLING !!!!!!!!!<
Honour Killing is the latest fade in India and almost tops the list of existing social evils. After the so called encounter deaths, Honour Killings are the in-thing. Indians are very good at picking up and emulating bad things and that is exactly what has been happening in the last few years
Honour killing is a death punishment given to someone by the family of the local panchayat or villagers for bringing shame to the family, clan or the village. It was earlier being used as a local punishment for someone who was a serial crimnal, a thief, a conspirater, a rapist or a murderer. But gradually its significance got diluted and it is being used for trivial crimes like eve teasing,wearing western clothes, girls mingling with boys, love affairs, love between children of lower and upper castes,inter caste or intra gotra marraiges, marraiages within the family in outside muslims, premarital sex, getting pregnant before marriage .These were always considered bad but the maximum punishment for these to those concerned and their families was out casting actual or virtual (hukka –pani band hona) and payment of some fine in form of money or a feast to the whole village.
Some where someone killed the accused, intensionaly or unintentionaly, and it gave way to the introduction of this most gruesome form of punishment .Its popularity has spread like fire, and now almost daily you hear about atlaest one or two such deaths. Many have happened, right under the nose of the police and in the knowledge of the guardians of law and order. It is even more disgusting to see that it is not only the villagers but often the family, including the parents are party to it. It is also being mis used as encounter deaths have been exploited in the past. On many occasions, deaths under shady circumstances are being given the name of honour killing and on the other side, well planned homicides to take revenge or to set even some past rivalry, and are being presented as honour killing too.
To my small brains,Arushi murder case looks like honour killing too. The case has been lingering since long and has again come to light, after its recent closure and immediate reopening, with parents being the prime suspects. Both the parents of Arushi were involved in some form of unwanted activities which may be extra marital affair, group sex or even wife swapping. In their busy professional schedule and the other activities, there was little time they could devote to Arushi, who was mostly alone at home with the servant. In this scenario she probably found a listener in the servant who later became a friend. She and probably even the servant were aware of the nefarious activities of the parents. And the parents knew about this and use to lock Arushi’s room at night, though she could open it. In these circumstances what I think that would have happened on that fateful night may have been as follows
Arushi would have let the servant in the room, and on whatever pretext, they had sex.the parents heard the noise and entered the room. Seeing what was happening or had happened, the father killed the servant in rage, instantaneuosly with a golf stick. When Arushi would have reacted to it, and when her parents confronted her, she would have brought forth their activities. This would have angered the father more and in his rage, fear, embarrasment and reaction to Arushi’s indulgence with the servant, he killed her too and then tried to cover up the case and destroy all evidence
Weather it was an Honour killing or not, time and law alone will tell, but this case and the presently prevalent honor killings are inter related and point fingers towards parents. Parents need to be more serious about parenting and careful about the upbringing of the child and try to ensure that no such unwarranted incident happens that may precipice the need of a judgment or punishment which may be as cruel as death. And when judging the children, teenagers or younsters,th elders and specially the family members and parents should at least once think, of what they are going to do. Parents give life, don’t take it and hence the very idea of them being party to the killing of their child or even being a silent observer is so repulsively oxymoronish.The other day, I stopped watching my favorite TV serial, when someone in it, hit his grown up daughter and so I and probably every normal loving parent would condemn this and put in all their endeavors to stop this social evil that is bringing disgrace in name of honour
Col ( Prof ) Sanjay Kapoor
Honour Killing is the latest fade in India and almost tops the list of existing social evils. After the so called encounter deaths, Honour Killings are the in-thing. Indians are very good at picking up and emulating bad things and that is exactly what has been happening in the last few years
Honour killing is a death punishment given to someone by the family of the local panchayat or villagers for bringing shame to the family, clan or the village. It was earlier being used as a local punishment for someone who was a serial crimnal, a thief, a conspirater, a rapist or a murderer. But gradually its significance got diluted and it is being used for trivial crimes like eve teasing,wearing western clothes, girls mingling with boys, love affairs, love between children of lower and upper castes,inter caste or intra gotra marraiges, marraiages within the family in outside muslims, premarital sex, getting pregnant before marriage .These were always considered bad but the maximum punishment for these to those concerned and their families was out casting actual or virtual (hukka –pani band hona) and payment of some fine in form of money or a feast to the whole village.
Some where someone killed the accused, intensionaly or unintentionaly, and it gave way to the introduction of this most gruesome form of punishment .Its popularity has spread like fire, and now almost daily you hear about atlaest one or two such deaths. Many have happened, right under the nose of the police and in the knowledge of the guardians of law and order. It is even more disgusting to see that it is not only the villagers but often the family, including the parents are party to it. It is also being mis used as encounter deaths have been exploited in the past. On many occasions, deaths under shady circumstances are being given the name of honour killing and on the other side, well planned homicides to take revenge or to set even some past rivalry, and are being presented as honour killing too.
To my small brains,Arushi murder case looks like honour killing too. The case has been lingering since long and has again come to light, after its recent closure and immediate reopening, with parents being the prime suspects. Both the parents of Arushi were involved in some form of unwanted activities which may be extra marital affair, group sex or even wife swapping. In their busy professional schedule and the other activities, there was little time they could devote to Arushi, who was mostly alone at home with the servant. In this scenario she probably found a listener in the servant who later became a friend. She and probably even the servant were aware of the nefarious activities of the parents. And the parents knew about this and use to lock Arushi’s room at night, though she could open it. In these circumstances what I think that would have happened on that fateful night may have been as follows
Arushi would have let the servant in the room, and on whatever pretext, they had sex.the parents heard the noise and entered the room. Seeing what was happening or had happened, the father killed the servant in rage, instantaneuosly with a golf stick. When Arushi would have reacted to it, and when her parents confronted her, she would have brought forth their activities. This would have angered the father more and in his rage, fear, embarrasment and reaction to Arushi’s indulgence with the servant, he killed her too and then tried to cover up the case and destroy all evidence
Weather it was an Honour killing or not, time and law alone will tell, but this case and the presently prevalent honor killings are inter related and point fingers towards parents. Parents need to be more serious about parenting and careful about the upbringing of the child and try to ensure that no such unwarranted incident happens that may precipice the need of a judgment or punishment which may be as cruel as death. And when judging the children, teenagers or younsters,th elders and specially the family members and parents should at least once think, of what they are going to do. Parents give life, don’t take it and hence the very idea of them being party to the killing of their child or even being a silent observer is so repulsively oxymoronish.The other day, I stopped watching my favorite TV serial, when someone in it, hit his grown up daughter and so I and probably every normal loving parent would condemn this and put in all their endeavors to stop this social evil that is bringing disgrace in name of honour
Col ( Prof ) Sanjay Kapoor
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
PSYCHOLOGY OR MARITAL LOVE
During a seminar, a woman asked a common question.
She said, "How do I know if I married the right person?"
I noticed that there was a man sitting next to her so I said,
"It depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?"
Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind..
Here's the answer.
EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse.
You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies.
Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience.
You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love...
Because it's happening TO YOU.
People in love sometimes say, "I was swept off my feet." Think about the imagery of that __expression.
It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.
Falling in love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience.
But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship.
Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens)
and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts.
The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage
you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage..
At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?"
And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfilment.
Extramarital fulfilment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious.
But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances.
But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it.
I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could.
And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.
Because .. listen carefully to this
THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON
IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.
SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience.. It'll NEVER just happen to you.
You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to "make" it day in and day out.
That's why we have the __expression "the labor of love."
Because it takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM.
You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.
Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery.
There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.
Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships.
Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship
WILL make your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect.
If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable... You can "make" love.
Love in marriage is indeed a "decision"... Not just a feeling.
"No one falls in love by choice, it is by CHANCE.
No one stays in love by chance, it is by CHOICE.”
She said, "How do I know if I married the right person?"
I noticed that there was a man sitting next to her so I said,
"It depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?"
Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind..
Here's the answer.
EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse.
You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies.
Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience.
You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love...
Because it's happening TO YOU.
People in love sometimes say, "I was swept off my feet." Think about the imagery of that __expression.
It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.
Falling in love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience.
But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship.
Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens)
and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts.
The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage
you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage..
At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?"
And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfilment.
Extramarital fulfilment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious.
But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances.
But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it.
I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could.
And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.
Because .. listen carefully to this
THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON
IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.
SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience.. It'll NEVER just happen to you.
You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to "make" it day in and day out.
That's why we have the __expression "the labor of love."
Because it takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM.
You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.
Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery.
There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.
Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships.
Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship
WILL make your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect.
If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable... You can "make" love.
Love in marriage is indeed a "decision"... Not just a feeling.
"No one falls in love by choice, it is by CHANCE.
No one stays in love by chance, it is by CHOICE.”
PRE TEENAGE SEX
Pre Teenage Sex -Is official now !!!!!!!!
I am not a very avid newspaper reader, but do go through the first and Editorial pages and that too in the afternoon.How ever I do glance through the headlines, as I gulp down my morning milk shake every day. Today I almost choked over it, when I read that in Chennai the state has submitted a bill to legalize sex at the age of 12.
Even me, who considers himself very open minded and who dares to discuss the unspoken, in all forums, was really shocked. I have always supported sex education, by the right person, in phased manner, at right time to right extent, but this is something I could never imagine in my wildest of dreams. While we are still talking about infidility, premarital sex, teenage sexcapades and virginty, here we have our legislature considering to legalize sex at the preteen age of 12 ! At any other time I would have use Kid or Child for someone 12 years, but talking In terms of sex at this age, calling them kids would be ridiculously oxymoronish.
The proposal is to legalize non penetrative sex between two consenting person of age 12 and above, with a difference of two years and this difference can be three years if the concerned are 14 years and above. What is surprising is the fact that this has been initiated by the ministry of Women and Child Health and that to with an intended motive of decriminalization of sexual exploration by kids. Even in the most advanced countries this age is 16.I agree, that children are attaining sexual maturity at an early age and are even aware of sexual issues, but giving them the freedom to indulge in sex at such an early stage, is sheer madness. The ministry seems to have absolved its responsibility and seems to be less challenged, by adding the rider of non penetrative sex.but wonder how they will define this. The memory of Delhi DPS MMS scandal is still fresh in our minds and if non penetrative sex was not sex enough, then Bill and Monika would not have achieved the global fame or notoriety that they did.
In a country where sex-education has still not become the part of curriculam, where parents hesitate to talk about sex, even with grown up children, where the discussion of sex is considered bold and avoidable, where even married couples, rarely hold hands or hug in public, where many couples, never talk about sex, where even after legalization gay couples have not attained social acceptance, and where many of my friends may not even approve of me writing this and circulating it in public,we plan to legalize sex, even if with restrictions, is a ridiculous thought. Like the mile stones of developement, the ministry should now also lay down milestones for social activities, to include, consensual non penetrative sex with someone two years older, same with someone three years older, penetrative sex with a partner of any age difference, age to vote, age to get married, age to get a government job and age to be fit to consume alcohol. A child who can travel with half ticket on buses, trains and probably even flights, who pays half at buffet meals, who is charged half in hotel occupancy, who actually still roams around in knickers will now have the right to indulge in fair amount of sexual activities, even if not all. Wonder who will do the sexual policing now, to control the ages of the concerned partners and regulate the extent of their sexual indulgence. The Oxford Dictionary too, should remove the words like kids and children and prohibit the use of tender and innocent s adjectives before them.
Wonder what the ministry wants to prove or attain by this .Is it aping the west, and going ahead of them and trying to exhibit a sign of advancement and create a facade of modernity and broad mindedness? If sense prevails, the bill will never be passed as it is, but will do a great amount of damage, just by its suggestion and consideration. Those, of this age, who did not even think of sexual indulgence, will definitely give it a thought and maybe even a try, thinking that it may be the correct thing if the law was trying to support it. The very act of framing such a bill is deplorable, and people concerned have behaved in the most irresponsible manner, not befitting the authority trusted upon them. We can rest assured that not even one percent of those indulging in such sex,will ever get married to each other and hence with one blow, this law will remove all the taboos attached to the so called sex related social evils, like experimental sex, teenage sex, premarital sex and subsequently extramarital sex and infidility.
Vatsayan would be thrilled in his grave, that his Kama sutra shall now become the text book for class seventh and he has finally succeed in making the country a free sex land sans all moralities !
Sanjay Kapoor ,Lucknow
I am not a very avid newspaper reader, but do go through the first and Editorial pages and that too in the afternoon.How ever I do glance through the headlines, as I gulp down my morning milk shake every day. Today I almost choked over it, when I read that in Chennai the state has submitted a bill to legalize sex at the age of 12.
Even me, who considers himself very open minded and who dares to discuss the unspoken, in all forums, was really shocked. I have always supported sex education, by the right person, in phased manner, at right time to right extent, but this is something I could never imagine in my wildest of dreams. While we are still talking about infidility, premarital sex, teenage sexcapades and virginty, here we have our legislature considering to legalize sex at the preteen age of 12 ! At any other time I would have use Kid or Child for someone 12 years, but talking In terms of sex at this age, calling them kids would be ridiculously oxymoronish.
The proposal is to legalize non penetrative sex between two consenting person of age 12 and above, with a difference of two years and this difference can be three years if the concerned are 14 years and above. What is surprising is the fact that this has been initiated by the ministry of Women and Child Health and that to with an intended motive of decriminalization of sexual exploration by kids. Even in the most advanced countries this age is 16.I agree, that children are attaining sexual maturity at an early age and are even aware of sexual issues, but giving them the freedom to indulge in sex at such an early stage, is sheer madness. The ministry seems to have absolved its responsibility and seems to be less challenged, by adding the rider of non penetrative sex.but wonder how they will define this. The memory of Delhi DPS MMS scandal is still fresh in our minds and if non penetrative sex was not sex enough, then Bill and Monika would not have achieved the global fame or notoriety that they did.
In a country where sex-education has still not become the part of curriculam, where parents hesitate to talk about sex, even with grown up children, where the discussion of sex is considered bold and avoidable, where even married couples, rarely hold hands or hug in public, where many couples, never talk about sex, where even after legalization gay couples have not attained social acceptance, and where many of my friends may not even approve of me writing this and circulating it in public,we plan to legalize sex, even if with restrictions, is a ridiculous thought. Like the mile stones of developement, the ministry should now also lay down milestones for social activities, to include, consensual non penetrative sex with someone two years older, same with someone three years older, penetrative sex with a partner of any age difference, age to vote, age to get married, age to get a government job and age to be fit to consume alcohol. A child who can travel with half ticket on buses, trains and probably even flights, who pays half at buffet meals, who is charged half in hotel occupancy, who actually still roams around in knickers will now have the right to indulge in fair amount of sexual activities, even if not all. Wonder who will do the sexual policing now, to control the ages of the concerned partners and regulate the extent of their sexual indulgence. The Oxford Dictionary too, should remove the words like kids and children and prohibit the use of tender and innocent s adjectives before them.
Wonder what the ministry wants to prove or attain by this .Is it aping the west, and going ahead of them and trying to exhibit a sign of advancement and create a facade of modernity and broad mindedness? If sense prevails, the bill will never be passed as it is, but will do a great amount of damage, just by its suggestion and consideration. Those, of this age, who did not even think of sexual indulgence, will definitely give it a thought and maybe even a try, thinking that it may be the correct thing if the law was trying to support it. The very act of framing such a bill is deplorable, and people concerned have behaved in the most irresponsible manner, not befitting the authority trusted upon them. We can rest assured that not even one percent of those indulging in such sex,will ever get married to each other and hence with one blow, this law will remove all the taboos attached to the so called sex related social evils, like experimental sex, teenage sex, premarital sex and subsequently extramarital sex and infidility.
Vatsayan would be thrilled in his grave, that his Kama sutra shall now become the text book for class seventh and he has finally succeed in making the country a free sex land sans all moralities !
Sanjay Kapoor ,Lucknow
Thursday, January 20, 2011
HAZRATGUNJ-FOODIE'S DELIGHT
HAZRATGUNJ-A Foodie’s Dream !!
Gunj has always been, is and shall always be a haven for the foodies and there was a time that restaurants and eating joints in Lucknow, existed only in gunj, except for the ones in old Lucknow.
Chaat ,sweets ,kulfi and veg food of Motimahal and Choudharys were very attractive in the yester years and in fact the best in the city, specially famous for chat, milk pudding and nans. So were the meetha pans outside Chowdhary ,folded in a cone, decorated by a silver foil and coconut powder, placed over a ice slab and which could match any dessert. The old Capoors and China bar which was near Mullicks,served drinks and the latter was very famous for its mutton cutlets. Capoors was the only restaurant serving liquor and hence was avoided by families generally.
The three most visited restaurants were, Kwalities,,Royal Cafe and Ranjanas. Kwalties was the costliest and classiest restaurant, located in the Mayfair Building. Besides food it was famous for its snacks, confectionary and ice-creams. Inclusion of pineapple pastries from Kwalities, priced at a rupee a piece even in late sixties was the gold standard for any party. Besides business luncheons, it was used for match-making and often for couples for the dream date or the proposal place. Royal café was then located in the Halwasia Court, just before Halwasia building and was considered as the only fine-dine restaurant of those days.I ts dim light, live oechestra and antique furniture, gave it a look of an English reataurant. Baked vegetables, Non veg mixed grill and fish tomato with butter naans were its speciality .For year’s dad use to take all of us, there for dinner after the ritualistic Saturday movie, a habit which we have followed to date, of having dinner out on every satureday. We would however first go to Choudharys, for mummy to have her vegetarian food, unless she had had chat before the movie. Ranjana, was located where Barrista is today, and was the busiest restaurant throughout the day.Its Dosas, grilled sandwiches and cutlets were all time favorite. Ranjana was the only restaurant serving Chinese in sixties and it was there, where I tasted chinese for the first time in 1968,and that too, with chop sticks.
Anapoorna, was located to the side of Ranjana in the Prince-Filmistan building and resembled the Irani restaurants of Pune and Mumbai serving tea and snacks, specially good potato patties and small vanilla pasteries. The Indian Coffee House located next to Ramlal Brothers, had its coveted identity. Haunted by poets ,journalists and artists it was the place were all the national and international issues were discussed over a cup of coffee. The strong aroma of the filter coffee mixed with that of crisp masala dosa and cigarette smoke, lingers in my mind even today. Talking of Dosa,I cant resist talking about Madras Mess, working out of a house ,located inside, from the lane next to Gandhi Ashram.I can never forget that,since I was always taken there by my brother,to patch up, after he had bashed me or had a fight. Madras mess served typical south Indian soft dosas for 50 paisa, with sambhar and chutney served in saucers from buckets. Extra sambhar and chutney was free and hence we would often have several plates of them. The building next to the hanuman mandir had a pure vegetarian restaurant which changed many names,including Anapurna and Bantoos.It served thalis for meals at throw away prices and was frequented by office workers for lunch. It probably also had few rooms too,on the first floor.
Once Anapoorna, closed down from its original place, it re opened as Krishna Sweet house, next to Ramlala Brothers and was later converted to a restaurant , called Kayz Kozy Korner. Jone Hing came up as the first exclusive Chinese restaurant opposite the Hanuman mandir and most Lucknowites were introduced to chinese from there. For two years ,during my intermediate,76-78,every evening without fail, me and my dear friend Harsh, shared a plate of hakka noodles and a bowl of chicken sweet corn soup here,all for ten rupees. Rovers, at the petrol pump, opposite GPO, came up the same time and was the first fast food joint of Lucknow, serving burgers and roles.
There was King of Chart in Halwasia Market,Prince of chaat,on Shahanajaf Road and then the tikki and golegappa stall at the LIC Building before Lovers Lane. Besides these established eating joints there were few fixed hawkers too. The biryani and Kababs in the lane next to Prince, the boiled matar outside halwasia market,the chana Joor garam,on the varendah outside Bata, the Dahi wada outside GPO gate and the innumerable tthelas all along gunj,selling moongfali in winters and jaljeera in summers,in huge earthen pots, decorated with raw mangoes and mint leaves. A redi outside the Hazratgunj thana,attracted a big crowd for the omellete,of desi eggs made in amul butter, served with bread on newspaper. Not to miss the Rita and Gogo ice cream with an occasional Kwality ice-cream vender too, which introduced two special icecreams, Bon-Bon-,three ice ream balls coated with chocolate in a box, and Ball ice cream, where the ice-cream was sold in a plastic ball shaped cup, both for a rupee each.. Cold water was sold too, in the yesteryears, initially three paisa a glass and later five paisa and finally ten paisa for unlimited quantity, to cater to the students coming from Univ and for players returning from Stadium after evening games. All along gung there were hawkers selling fresh cucumbers, molis, fruit chat, sprouts, coconut, aamras, and boiled singhadas
Today ,Gunj has all this and more,with very few changes.Kwalities,Motimahal and Choudhary are less popular.Royal cafe in its new location is the busiest restaurant,not only of Hazratgunj bit also of the city,which is popular not only for its multi cuisine food,but for the chat too and specially the basket chat.Coffee House had closed down,but has been revived as a fast food and confectionery joint.Cafe Coffee day and Barista have been established and many older small restaurants,including ranjana have closed down
From the roadside fresh cucumbers to the pastry tray of Kwalities,all had their special charm, and catered to the pockets, needs and taste of one and all. What I have always found very surprising, is the fact that, till even today, no one from the old city, ventured to open a exclusive Lucknow Mughlai kababs, biryani and food outlet in Hazratgunj proper.
The variety of food available , even today is vast and no one who visits Lucknow, can ever forget them, specially the chat and kulfi.
Dr Sanjay Kapoor
Gunj has always been, is and shall always be a haven for the foodies and there was a time that restaurants and eating joints in Lucknow, existed only in gunj, except for the ones in old Lucknow.
Chaat ,sweets ,kulfi and veg food of Motimahal and Choudharys were very attractive in the yester years and in fact the best in the city, specially famous for chat, milk pudding and nans. So were the meetha pans outside Chowdhary ,folded in a cone, decorated by a silver foil and coconut powder, placed over a ice slab and which could match any dessert. The old Capoors and China bar which was near Mullicks,served drinks and the latter was very famous for its mutton cutlets. Capoors was the only restaurant serving liquor and hence was avoided by families generally.
The three most visited restaurants were, Kwalities,,Royal Cafe and Ranjanas. Kwalties was the costliest and classiest restaurant, located in the Mayfair Building. Besides food it was famous for its snacks, confectionary and ice-creams. Inclusion of pineapple pastries from Kwalities, priced at a rupee a piece even in late sixties was the gold standard for any party. Besides business luncheons, it was used for match-making and often for couples for the dream date or the proposal place. Royal café was then located in the Halwasia Court, just before Halwasia building and was considered as the only fine-dine restaurant of those days.I ts dim light, live oechestra and antique furniture, gave it a look of an English reataurant. Baked vegetables, Non veg mixed grill and fish tomato with butter naans were its speciality .For year’s dad use to take all of us, there for dinner after the ritualistic Saturday movie, a habit which we have followed to date, of having dinner out on every satureday. We would however first go to Choudharys, for mummy to have her vegetarian food, unless she had had chat before the movie. Ranjana, was located where Barrista is today, and was the busiest restaurant throughout the day.Its Dosas, grilled sandwiches and cutlets were all time favorite. Ranjana was the only restaurant serving Chinese in sixties and it was there, where I tasted chinese for the first time in 1968,and that too, with chop sticks.
Anapoorna, was located to the side of Ranjana in the Prince-Filmistan building and resembled the Irani restaurants of Pune and Mumbai serving tea and snacks, specially good potato patties and small vanilla pasteries. The Indian Coffee House located next to Ramlal Brothers, had its coveted identity. Haunted by poets ,journalists and artists it was the place were all the national and international issues were discussed over a cup of coffee. The strong aroma of the filter coffee mixed with that of crisp masala dosa and cigarette smoke, lingers in my mind even today. Talking of Dosa,I cant resist talking about Madras Mess, working out of a house ,located inside, from the lane next to Gandhi Ashram.I can never forget that,since I was always taken there by my brother,to patch up, after he had bashed me or had a fight. Madras mess served typical south Indian soft dosas for 50 paisa, with sambhar and chutney served in saucers from buckets. Extra sambhar and chutney was free and hence we would often have several plates of them. The building next to the hanuman mandir had a pure vegetarian restaurant which changed many names,including Anapurna and Bantoos.It served thalis for meals at throw away prices and was frequented by office workers for lunch. It probably also had few rooms too,on the first floor.
Once Anapoorna, closed down from its original place, it re opened as Krishna Sweet house, next to Ramlala Brothers and was later converted to a restaurant , called Kayz Kozy Korner. Jone Hing came up as the first exclusive Chinese restaurant opposite the Hanuman mandir and most Lucknowites were introduced to chinese from there. For two years ,during my intermediate,76-78,every evening without fail, me and my dear friend Harsh, shared a plate of hakka noodles and a bowl of chicken sweet corn soup here,all for ten rupees. Rovers, at the petrol pump, opposite GPO, came up the same time and was the first fast food joint of Lucknow, serving burgers and roles.
There was King of Chart in Halwasia Market,Prince of chaat,on Shahanajaf Road and then the tikki and golegappa stall at the LIC Building before Lovers Lane. Besides these established eating joints there were few fixed hawkers too. The biryani and Kababs in the lane next to Prince, the boiled matar outside halwasia market,the chana Joor garam,on the varendah outside Bata, the Dahi wada outside GPO gate and the innumerable tthelas all along gunj,selling moongfali in winters and jaljeera in summers,in huge earthen pots, decorated with raw mangoes and mint leaves. A redi outside the Hazratgunj thana,attracted a big crowd for the omellete,of desi eggs made in amul butter, served with bread on newspaper. Not to miss the Rita and Gogo ice cream with an occasional Kwality ice-cream vender too, which introduced two special icecreams, Bon-Bon-,three ice ream balls coated with chocolate in a box, and Ball ice cream, where the ice-cream was sold in a plastic ball shaped cup, both for a rupee each.. Cold water was sold too, in the yesteryears, initially three paisa a glass and later five paisa and finally ten paisa for unlimited quantity, to cater to the students coming from Univ and for players returning from Stadium after evening games. All along gung there were hawkers selling fresh cucumbers, molis, fruit chat, sprouts, coconut, aamras, and boiled singhadas
Today ,Gunj has all this and more,with very few changes.Kwalities,Motimahal and Choudhary are less popular.Royal cafe in its new location is the busiest restaurant,not only of Hazratgunj bit also of the city,which is popular not only for its multi cuisine food,but for the chat too and specially the basket chat.Coffee House had closed down,but has been revived as a fast food and confectionery joint.Cafe Coffee day and Barista have been established and many older small restaurants,including ranjana have closed down
From the roadside fresh cucumbers to the pastry tray of Kwalities,all had their special charm, and catered to the pockets, needs and taste of one and all. What I have always found very surprising, is the fact that, till even today, no one from the old city, ventured to open a exclusive Lucknow Mughlai kababs, biryani and food outlet in Hazratgunj proper.
The variety of food available , even today is vast and no one who visits Lucknow, can ever forget them, specially the chat and kulfi.
Dr Sanjay Kapoor
GROWING UP WITH HAZRATGUNJ-------A shoppers delight!
! GROWING UP WITH HAZRATGUNJ-------A shoppers delight!
Have been wanting to write on Hazratgunj since long, When I returned to Lucknow in 2008, then when it was being revamped, but finally cudnt resist now, when it has taken another new avtar, recently. After my house, what attracts me most to my beloved Lucknow, is Hazratgunj ! Gunj, as what Hazratgunj is popularly and lovingly called, is the main market of Lucknow probably the only market which has a noun to itself-gunjing, which is strolling in Hazratgunj, shopping, eating, and meeting friends or even just whiling away time. Its a unique market, complete in itself and just very few markets in the country, like CP in Delhi, Brigade Road in Banglaru and Main Street in Pune have been designed on this pattern
My romance with Gunj goes back to almost five decades, and my first memory of the area is, as a small child, being carried on the shoulders of my neighbour, for Milk-Badam, from the Sardars soft drink shop ,located between the LIC and Mayfair buildings,which was also the first to later introduce 7 Ups in Lucknow..As I grew older the visits became more frequent and became a daily ritual from 76-78.In spite of such a long duration, and with innumerable additions and deletions, the basic structure of Gunj has remained the same since eternity. Gunj has seen its ups and downs but has come out a winner each time .It underwent a similar do-up with uniform painting and sign boards in early seventies during the time of V R Mohan as the Mayor of Lucknow. With the expansion of the city and developement of areas like, Mahanagar, Gomtinagar, Aliganj and Indranagar, which created their own local markets, Gunj lost its charm for some time, and this was further added to by the coming up of the Malls in the city. But the die-hard spirit of gunj, did not give up, and over the last decade or so, with the establishment of shops like, Saree Bhawan, Calcutta-in -Style, Sugnamals and the showrooms of branded goods,like UCB,Van –Heusan, Allen Solly, Fab India, Life style and others and the regained popularity of Royal Cafe ,Gunj has regained its charm, and attracts crowds as before. Gunj is frequented usually for various purposes, shopping,eating, entertainment or just whiling away the time.
At one time gunj was the trendy market with almost each and everything available on one straight road. Modern Silk House and Ramlal Brothers, the corner shop,where Cafe Coffee day ,is today, were the laeding shops for sarees. Mercury and Back in a Day, popular dry-cleaners and Rupani and Vohras the clock and watch stores. Vohras was also the leading shop for prizes, trophies, momentoes, silverware and goods of white metal. B N Rama, British Pharmacy and Solomans were the drug stores and Mullicks was the leading shop for electric appliances and crockery and cutlery. Kaysons came up in mid seventies as the one stop store for trendy menswear and Lila Brothers were the fashioable mens tailor. Kohlis and GD Pun were the authorized tailors for army and police uniforms, respectivly. British and Universal Book stores were patronized by people of all ages, but specialy by children of public schools for their books and stationary. The good old Universal, which stood as the corner shop in the building between Gandhi ashram and Sahu, was huge and busy, giving the teenagers opportunity for shop lifting, and I cant resist from confessing that I have walked away with an Enid Bliton once, only because the wait to make the payment was getting unbearably long.. Gandhi Ashram stood as it is today, with Bata and Balujas being the shops for footwear.Kohli Brothers was a Photo studio and Famous Coat House opposite Mayfair, made the best ladies coats .Ram Prakash Brothers,which was earlier in Halwasia market, has provided school uniforms and Sitals sports goods to generations. Avadh Cocogem and Sahu Kirana were the Grocery shops and Kashmir fruit Mart was the stylish dry and fresh fruit shop, also selling tinned and canned food .Sahu chit fund and local bank opened in the same buiding in late sixties,and gave small savings an organized shape. Halwasia Market,an identity in itself, basicaly with shops for clothes and accessories for ladies and kids has existed for over half a century and its first shop, Button House has been the most haunted place for buttons and laces all these years. Janpath Market was established in early seventies to cope with the increasing demand of shops and shopping craze of Lucknowites and this brought the Chickan from Chowk and Aminabad to Gunj,mainly for the tourists. Stealing a part of Halwasia’s popularity. Devi Gramaphones, sold the good old Record players and Radiorgams along with the LPs and EPs of Indian and English music ( many may not have even seen a radiogram and the LP & EP records) As the craze of record players and records dwindled, Northern Refrigeration came up in the same shop, the corner shop beyond Mullicks, which is now the Provouge showroom.they were the first to sell fridges, on instalments in a lottery system, but the fridge was delivered after all the installments were made, We won the 165 Lltres Kelvinator fridge worth Rs 2700,in the tenth month for Rs 2000 only,in 1974.They were also the first to bring TVs in Lucknow,and in fact had advance booking for a year prior to its arrival,at Rs 50 for the booking of a Western B&W TV.
Talk on the shops of gunj is incomplete without the mention of Lovers Lane,the market in the buliding opposite the DRMs building. The market was named so, not because it had spots for couples to sit, but because it had the glamour of trend and fashion, which attracted the teenagers for shopping of sweet nothings and was what Janpath of Delhi is today. The most popular shops here were Cheap Stores, the general merchant and grocery shop and Modern Novelty, the stores for modern food, frozen poultry stuff and goods for birthday parties. The salami burger of Modern novelties was and still remains the tastiest burger I have ever had and even today I never miss an opportunity to grab one, whenever I am in the lane. The Lovers lane was famous for the shops it had in its verandah, which sold trincklets, sweet nothings, cards, gifts and smuggled imported clothes and perfumes. Fashion in Lucknow those days started from Lovers Lane. From James Bond cufflings, to bead strings and footwear introduced by Zeenat in Hare Ram Hare Krishna, broad belts with huge dragon buckles brought by Rajesh Khanna and huge goggles with changeable coloured glasses,popularized by Praveen Baby. The erstwhile Stretchloon cloth was introduced too here, in early seventies, which was used to make the bellbottoms with 32 inch bottoms. Hobbies Corner, the joint that not only sold story books but also gave them on rent,25 paisa a day ! There were few permanant persons here, the sweetman, who sold toffees and chocolates on a cycle,a mad man, who would keep repeating, Woh Ayegi and an elderly beggar who use to speak english, and beg while eating grapes. Lovers lane was the place which got the first Softy ice-cream plant,and sold at a shockingly high price of a rupee per cone. One thing that I miss the most today in Gunj,is the Lovers Lane
A large number of shops have changed, some have closed down, some have undergone partitions, some have been replaced by shopping complexes, but the aura of gunj persists and shopping in gunj is still and shall always remain a treat
Dr Sanjay Kapoor ,Lucknow
Have been wanting to write on Hazratgunj since long, When I returned to Lucknow in 2008, then when it was being revamped, but finally cudnt resist now, when it has taken another new avtar, recently. After my house, what attracts me most to my beloved Lucknow, is Hazratgunj ! Gunj, as what Hazratgunj is popularly and lovingly called, is the main market of Lucknow probably the only market which has a noun to itself-gunjing, which is strolling in Hazratgunj, shopping, eating, and meeting friends or even just whiling away time. Its a unique market, complete in itself and just very few markets in the country, like CP in Delhi, Brigade Road in Banglaru and Main Street in Pune have been designed on this pattern
My romance with Gunj goes back to almost five decades, and my first memory of the area is, as a small child, being carried on the shoulders of my neighbour, for Milk-Badam, from the Sardars soft drink shop ,located between the LIC and Mayfair buildings,which was also the first to later introduce 7 Ups in Lucknow..As I grew older the visits became more frequent and became a daily ritual from 76-78.In spite of such a long duration, and with innumerable additions and deletions, the basic structure of Gunj has remained the same since eternity. Gunj has seen its ups and downs but has come out a winner each time .It underwent a similar do-up with uniform painting and sign boards in early seventies during the time of V R Mohan as the Mayor of Lucknow. With the expansion of the city and developement of areas like, Mahanagar, Gomtinagar, Aliganj and Indranagar, which created their own local markets, Gunj lost its charm for some time, and this was further added to by the coming up of the Malls in the city. But the die-hard spirit of gunj, did not give up, and over the last decade or so, with the establishment of shops like, Saree Bhawan, Calcutta-in -Style, Sugnamals and the showrooms of branded goods,like UCB,Van –Heusan, Allen Solly, Fab India, Life style and others and the regained popularity of Royal Cafe ,Gunj has regained its charm, and attracts crowds as before. Gunj is frequented usually for various purposes, shopping,eating, entertainment or just whiling away the time.
At one time gunj was the trendy market with almost each and everything available on one straight road. Modern Silk House and Ramlal Brothers, the corner shop,where Cafe Coffee day ,is today, were the laeding shops for sarees. Mercury and Back in a Day, popular dry-cleaners and Rupani and Vohras the clock and watch stores. Vohras was also the leading shop for prizes, trophies, momentoes, silverware and goods of white metal. B N Rama, British Pharmacy and Solomans were the drug stores and Mullicks was the leading shop for electric appliances and crockery and cutlery. Kaysons came up in mid seventies as the one stop store for trendy menswear and Lila Brothers were the fashioable mens tailor. Kohlis and GD Pun were the authorized tailors for army and police uniforms, respectivly. British and Universal Book stores were patronized by people of all ages, but specialy by children of public schools for their books and stationary. The good old Universal, which stood as the corner shop in the building between Gandhi ashram and Sahu, was huge and busy, giving the teenagers opportunity for shop lifting, and I cant resist from confessing that I have walked away with an Enid Bliton once, only because the wait to make the payment was getting unbearably long.. Gandhi Ashram stood as it is today, with Bata and Balujas being the shops for footwear.Kohli Brothers was a Photo studio and Famous Coat House opposite Mayfair, made the best ladies coats .Ram Prakash Brothers,which was earlier in Halwasia market, has provided school uniforms and Sitals sports goods to generations. Avadh Cocogem and Sahu Kirana were the Grocery shops and Kashmir fruit Mart was the stylish dry and fresh fruit shop, also selling tinned and canned food .Sahu chit fund and local bank opened in the same buiding in late sixties,and gave small savings an organized shape. Halwasia Market,an identity in itself, basicaly with shops for clothes and accessories for ladies and kids has existed for over half a century and its first shop, Button House has been the most haunted place for buttons and laces all these years. Janpath Market was established in early seventies to cope with the increasing demand of shops and shopping craze of Lucknowites and this brought the Chickan from Chowk and Aminabad to Gunj,mainly for the tourists. Stealing a part of Halwasia’s popularity. Devi Gramaphones, sold the good old Record players and Radiorgams along with the LPs and EPs of Indian and English music ( many may not have even seen a radiogram and the LP & EP records) As the craze of record players and records dwindled, Northern Refrigeration came up in the same shop, the corner shop beyond Mullicks, which is now the Provouge showroom.they were the first to sell fridges, on instalments in a lottery system, but the fridge was delivered after all the installments were made, We won the 165 Lltres Kelvinator fridge worth Rs 2700,in the tenth month for Rs 2000 only,in 1974.They were also the first to bring TVs in Lucknow,and in fact had advance booking for a year prior to its arrival,at Rs 50 for the booking of a Western B&W TV.
Talk on the shops of gunj is incomplete without the mention of Lovers Lane,the market in the buliding opposite the DRMs building. The market was named so, not because it had spots for couples to sit, but because it had the glamour of trend and fashion, which attracted the teenagers for shopping of sweet nothings and was what Janpath of Delhi is today. The most popular shops here were Cheap Stores, the general merchant and grocery shop and Modern Novelty, the stores for modern food, frozen poultry stuff and goods for birthday parties. The salami burger of Modern novelties was and still remains the tastiest burger I have ever had and even today I never miss an opportunity to grab one, whenever I am in the lane. The Lovers lane was famous for the shops it had in its verandah, which sold trincklets, sweet nothings, cards, gifts and smuggled imported clothes and perfumes. Fashion in Lucknow those days started from Lovers Lane. From James Bond cufflings, to bead strings and footwear introduced by Zeenat in Hare Ram Hare Krishna, broad belts with huge dragon buckles brought by Rajesh Khanna and huge goggles with changeable coloured glasses,popularized by Praveen Baby. The erstwhile Stretchloon cloth was introduced too here, in early seventies, which was used to make the bellbottoms with 32 inch bottoms. Hobbies Corner, the joint that not only sold story books but also gave them on rent,25 paisa a day ! There were few permanant persons here, the sweetman, who sold toffees and chocolates on a cycle,a mad man, who would keep repeating, Woh Ayegi and an elderly beggar who use to speak english, and beg while eating grapes. Lovers lane was the place which got the first Softy ice-cream plant,and sold at a shockingly high price of a rupee per cone. One thing that I miss the most today in Gunj,is the Lovers Lane
A large number of shops have changed, some have closed down, some have undergone partitions, some have been replaced by shopping complexes, but the aura of gunj persists and shopping in gunj is still and shall always remain a treat
Dr Sanjay Kapoor ,Lucknow
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
HANUMAAN
BAJRANG BALI & BADA MANGAL !!
Hanuman,is a favorite deity of Hindus,specially UP,and definitely the most popular Hindu God of Lucknow.Bajrangbali,or Hanuman,is not only the idol for all the young bachelors but also of devotees of all ages!
While Hanuman mandir can be found in every locality,mohalla and even lanes of the city, there are four temples that are most popular,The Purana Hanuman Mandir of Aliganj,Hanumansetu mandir ,Hanuman Temple of Hazratganj and the CDRI Hanuman temple.Though all have the same deity,their history and fan following are different ! The CDRI Temple is more for,few selective families and ardent loyal bhakts,leaving the remaining three to fight for the lime light.
The purana,Aliganj temple,is the oldest and the original main Hanuman mandir of the city,It was patronized,at time,when Aliganj was outskirts of the city,with IT College being the end of Lucknow in those good old days.As time passed,and when there weren't many vehicles or a good public transport system in the city,popel realized the need of another Hanuman Temple,in the centre of the city,and what other place could be the best for it,other than Hazratgunj,the heart of the city.Initially the temple started in the sixties as a statue under the peepal tree,next to Krishna Restaurant.The statue was without a roof,and once in the summer months,people saw the statue crying.The care-taker,in his desperation to have a temple for the hanumanji had played a trick.He had drilled holes in the eyes of the statue,and would hide ice behind it,which would melt and come out as tears.People got highly emotional,that hanuman is crying as he doesn't have a home,and donated ,generously and the temple came up,almost overnight.
The hanuman temple,pulled a large number of bhakts toward itself,and became the hub for the rendezvous of youngsters,specially from Lucknow University.All young men,from the hostels of Lucknow colleges,gathered around the temple every evening,and their power and popularity was evident by the size of Tika,the pundit put on their foreheads.Though tradionaly and conventionally hanuman is the symbol of brahmcharya or celibacy,the Ganj Hanuman Mandir also became the place where many a love affairs started and many eloped couples got married,in those good old days.
A bridge was then started to be built over the Gomti leading to the University.It would collapse every time,it reached a particular height.It happened several time,and then people,thought they should offer prayers.They made a small,make shift hanuman temple,at the side of the bridge and named the bridge,Hanuman Setu.The trick worked,the Lord was pleased and the bridge was completed,and then they constructed a proper temple,at that site,under the ages of Karori Baba,which soon became popularized as the Hanuman Setu temple.The temple became a hot favorite,almost overnight and has remained so for over four decades.
Tuesday,being the day of hanumanji and hanuman ji being popular in Lucknow,Tuesday,or mangal,is special for the city,specially the Bada Mangals, the Tuesdays of the month of Jeht month of the Hindi calendar,which fall usually in the month of June.In spite of all the scorching heat and sultry humidity,during the month,the four and occasionally five mangals are celebrated with great fervor.My memories of bada mangal go back to sixties,when the only temple,one could or rather had to visit,was the Aliganj mandir.We would get up early,and leave home,even before the sunrise,to avoid the heat and then would take hours to reach by rickshaw,and then the never ending serpentine rows of devotees.Something real spectacular was to see the young devotees,in red thongs(Langots) crawling on the hot blazing tarred road,to reach the temple,from far distances.As time passed,due to the distance and lack of space,infrastructure and glamour,the attendance started thinning at Aliganj and gradually almost finished,till it was revived few years back,but Hanuman Setu temple still remains the hot spot!
The main attraction of the bada Mangals,besides the prasad of boondi laddu,are the piyaoos or the stalls offering water to the devotees.Earleir they use to offer just cold water,then batashas and later boondi,but now the few of these are replaced with innumerable lavishly decorated counters which serve roohafza,neembo pani,lassi,juice,frooti,puri sabji,halwa and even proper meals cooked in pure ghee,and all these are in such large quantity,that often there are more people to serve than those to be served! All this gives the Hanumanji of Lucknow a separate identity,but I often wonder that if we stick to just water and prasad for all devotees,then from all the money that is spent during these four days,on the rest,we can easily place and run water coolers,at several places of the city,to function round the year.But if the rich devotees of bajrangbali,want it so,be it so !
Jai Hanuman
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
Hanuman,is a favorite deity of Hindus,specially UP,and definitely the most popular Hindu God of Lucknow.Bajrangbali,or Hanuman,is not only the idol for all the young bachelors but also of devotees of all ages!
While Hanuman mandir can be found in every locality,mohalla and even lanes of the city, there are four temples that are most popular,The Purana Hanuman Mandir of Aliganj,Hanumansetu mandir ,Hanuman Temple of Hazratganj and the CDRI Hanuman temple.Though all have the same deity,their history and fan following are different ! The CDRI Temple is more for,few selective families and ardent loyal bhakts,leaving the remaining three to fight for the lime light.
The purana,Aliganj temple,is the oldest and the original main Hanuman mandir of the city,It was patronized,at time,when Aliganj was outskirts of the city,with IT College being the end of Lucknow in those good old days.As time passed,and when there weren't many vehicles or a good public transport system in the city,popel realized the need of another Hanuman Temple,in the centre of the city,and what other place could be the best for it,other than Hazratgunj,the heart of the city.Initially the temple started in the sixties as a statue under the peepal tree,next to Krishna Restaurant.The statue was without a roof,and once in the summer months,people saw the statue crying.The care-taker,in his desperation to have a temple for the hanumanji had played a trick.He had drilled holes in the eyes of the statue,and would hide ice behind it,which would melt and come out as tears.People got highly emotional,that hanuman is crying as he doesn't have a home,and donated ,generously and the temple came up,almost overnight.
The hanuman temple,pulled a large number of bhakts toward itself,and became the hub for the rendezvous of youngsters,specially from Lucknow University.All young men,from the hostels of Lucknow colleges,gathered around the temple every evening,and their power and popularity was evident by the size of Tika,the pundit put on their foreheads.Though tradionaly and conventionally hanuman is the symbol of brahmcharya or celibacy,the Ganj Hanuman Mandir also became the place where many a love affairs started and many eloped couples got married,in those good old days.
A bridge was then started to be built over the Gomti leading to the University.It would collapse every time,it reached a particular height.It happened several time,and then people,thought they should offer prayers.They made a small,make shift hanuman temple,at the side of the bridge and named the bridge,Hanuman Setu.The trick worked,the Lord was pleased and the bridge was completed,and then they constructed a proper temple,at that site,under the ages of Karori Baba,which soon became popularized as the Hanuman Setu temple.The temple became a hot favorite,almost overnight and has remained so for over four decades.
Tuesday,being the day of hanumanji and hanuman ji being popular in Lucknow,Tuesday,or mangal,is special for the city,specially the Bada Mangals, the Tuesdays of the month of Jeht month of the Hindi calendar,which fall usually in the month of June.In spite of all the scorching heat and sultry humidity,during the month,the four and occasionally five mangals are celebrated with great fervor.My memories of bada mangal go back to sixties,when the only temple,one could or rather had to visit,was the Aliganj mandir.We would get up early,and leave home,even before the sunrise,to avoid the heat and then would take hours to reach by rickshaw,and then the never ending serpentine rows of devotees.Something real spectacular was to see the young devotees,in red thongs(Langots) crawling on the hot blazing tarred road,to reach the temple,from far distances.As time passed,due to the distance and lack of space,infrastructure and glamour,the attendance started thinning at Aliganj and gradually almost finished,till it was revived few years back,but Hanuman Setu temple still remains the hot spot!
The main attraction of the bada Mangals,besides the prasad of boondi laddu,are the piyaoos or the stalls offering water to the devotees.Earleir they use to offer just cold water,then batashas and later boondi,but now the few of these are replaced with innumerable lavishly decorated counters which serve roohafza,neembo pani,lassi,juice,frooti,puri sabji,halwa and even proper meals cooked in pure ghee,and all these are in such large quantity,that often there are more people to serve than those to be served! All this gives the Hanumanji of Lucknow a separate identity,but I often wonder that if we stick to just water and prasad for all devotees,then from all the money that is spent during these four days,on the rest,we can easily place and run water coolers,at several places of the city,to function round the year.But if the rich devotees of bajrangbali,want it so,be it so !
Jai Hanuman
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
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