हम फिर आएंगे..

अभी आँख खुली, मुँह भी नहीं धोया - बस साथ मिला तो निकल जाते थे
इधर गली की गरमा-गरम जलेबियाँ, उधर पुल के नीचे मैंगो आइसक्रीम खाते थे

साइकिल के पेडल पर सवार, दो-दो को ढोकर लखनऊ की गड्ढों भरी सड़कों पर
चल पड़ते थे अपनी छोटी सी दुनिया के नज़ारे आँखों में भर

चार रोज़ पुराने किस्सों में साहित्य बनाते थे,
और अठन्नियाँ जोड़ते चले तो हम अपनी गणित भी यहीं लगाते थे

इक वो कल था जहाँ अपनी मसरूफियत में घंटे-पहर, दिन-रात हो जाया करते थे.…
और एक आज है जो एकटक देखो तो घड़ी के कांटे भी मख़्सूस मज़मूनों पर ही टिक-टिक करते हैं!

ऐसा तो नहीं है की हम उस सफर पर फिर से जाना नहीं चाहते
दो की  चार कर अपनी महफ़िल में अनायास यूँ ही बतियाना नहीं चाहते

अरे कोई समझाता हमें की रास्ता तो मंज़िल की ओर निकल ही जाता है
नादानों! ये वक़्त जो गुज़रा तो फिर पलट कर नहीं आता है

बस यूँ कह दें - कि गर कोई फ़लसफ़ा उस उमर में बना जाते
तो कैसे बचपन की उस नादानी में खो पाते?

थोड़ा ग़म है, उस बेफिक्री के एहसास को शायद भूल गए हैं
कुछ कर-गुजरने की बारिश में लकड़ी जैसे फूल गए हैं

पर अपनी ज़िद पर भी क्या खूब ऐतबार है- अपने यार के साथ वो ख़ुशी फिर देखेंगे-
ज़िन्दगी के चूल्हे पर मुस्कुराहटों की मद्धम आंच में दोस्ती की नरम रोटी फिर सेकेंगे!

हम फिर आयेंगे, फिर एक बार तड़के ही छज्जे पर लटक कर देखंगे, इस बार वो आवाज़ देंगे
तब न हम कुछ बोलेंगे, न वो कुछ पूछेंगे - फिर अपनी वही धुन - हम अपना वही साज़ छेड़ेंगे

Possessions

The other day I was wondering how sophisticated these kids(who are under-12 right now) are gonna grow up to be! To my inquisitive self, my father would often tell me how things were different when he was a teenager, and "moving on" has been the mantra of their generation. And rightly so, keeping in my mind the technical and cultural advancement in all these years! He had to listen to the commentary for Hockey and Cricket on a transistor. Although Desi Ghee costed around 15-a-kilo, a motor-car was reserved for the filthy rich and well-to-do! Long queues for Trunk calls, Chitrahaar on Doordarshan.. (if you know all this, I've perhaps made my point, if not - I'm just boring you :P) The point is, I was wondering, now that I'm in my 20s, how distinctly did we grow up?


The immediate thing that came to my mind was, being a boy - a Cricket BAT! You could win the world if you own that.. and now all you need is balls! And not just any ball - Cosco! or even Khanna would suffice! These costed us gang around 25 bucks; and buying a leather ball was a totally different affair. Pocket money doesn't buy those balls! ;-)


I would have to be a sucker critic to claim that this was all I ever cherished. But as I said, I could immediately recall and re-paint my favorite Bat :)
Sad enough, I don't even have a picture of it; infact none of my possessions.. which I took a lot of time to figure out! So I'll now shut up, and put up a few 'things' here - these are absolutely personal and our choices do differ.... but maybe and just maybe, I remind you of something similar! And then you can go on smiling about how-funny-those-time-were.. PRICELESS!




What if I say the following were my fantasies.. PG-500, Gypsy or Beta? No sire, they are not cool names of cellphones from the XYZ brand..

Gypsy, boiiii; How bad I'd flaunt it !! ;-) Add Gel Pens were quite the thing to keep in your school-bag! PG-500 was absolute class; smooth-ass pen for the marathon notes the teachers try to spoon-feed!
And Parker's Beta, it has a story! I won the first debate competition I took part in, at school level. And this was a souvenir. Grand.

Although a freak about these rather common pens, I never completed my homework. I think standard VI was the last I maintained a note-book! Rules and me :/ As much as music interests me now, I could have done anything that could eat up my "homework-cum-study-time". A Philips Cassette Player or WALKMAN was just the thing! No iPods, mp3 players for this kid, not even a disc-man! ;-)


You'll know its hard to find images of the exact one on the internet for obvious reasons, but this was pretty much it. Automatic Stop, thats what it read!
AA Batteries and a cassette that could hold only 10 to 12 songs - but you are the king, and you know it!

Surely it was not that we didn't have gadgets while growing up. Because no one grew up without playing Tetris, even if it sucked(in your head, big time!) You got to have atleast touched that thing!
Suck-up all you PSP freaks! An ALL-WINNER is here!


The BRICK GAME!


Where Brick Game was a HUGE thing to be fiddling with, the TV Video Game had its own special place. SEGA is the only one I can recall for now. You see I didn't have one until I was in the 8th standard, so I couldn't quite master all those games except Mario for one! Because before I could, I had lost interest in sitting infront of the television, or at home, or apparently I had screwed my Joystick toooo soon to be reporting it to my father.. to replace it :P



Oh yes, I had that trendy-colored "educational" one, and a 64 in one classic.












Adding to the list I much adore, I had a Casio keyboard right from when I was 7 years old! Still have it at home, as a piece of.. well, it still works ;-) Achievement, I know!!
That's where I learned the Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do's and the Sa-Re-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni-Sa's ;-) And some sick jingles I won't wanna mention here :/




These things are things that one.. or me, to be specific, would use for a particular time in a day. But there was something that was actually a part of me 24x7.. Flesh and blood, shall we call it gentlemen and ladies!


My wrist watch! er, watches! The first one I owned was a Maxima, which was unbeatably water-proof; and me for one, exploited every sing;e feature of my possessions ;-) It just never came of. Sleeping, eating, playing in the field, at school, bathing, and uh-oh, lets not go there(where the time stands still :P)
Coolness as it was, but change is for better. I lost it, I got a new one - Titan Dash!  The Absolute! (Don't mind my exaggeration, that's what I've been doing throughout this post, hehe!) Still remember that ugly morning, while watering the plants in the garden, for one rare time, I took it off my wrist for the fear of damaging it, and kept it somewhere. And next I recall, I was searching for it all around the garden the following evening with a naked wrist and a gloomy face :( Miss it!
If anything that could beat my affinity for this watch of mine, it had to be on splendid object. The very evening, I remember telling mom, that I had lost 'one' of the two most important things I had for my own, and so I am going out to spend some time with the other. No drama, all out of disappointment, that :P And I was out on the streets with my AVON ALTON! (one day, that was stolen too!)
My bicycle. THE BICYCLE! So what, if it had no gears, or shockers, or indicators(that was a lame feature, to be honest) - it was special to me!

No street of Lucknow was left unmarked; no corners unexplored! It would often speed up to 35kmph while going down hill.. and boy, that is some speed for a bike!
Also, that is not how it looked back then :( Again, don't have a picture of it,  and the model seems to have changed!
Mine, was a blue-cum-silver colored Avon Alton - K-series; with the top-tube, down-tube and seat-tube forming a K shape! Who needs gadget when you have that! Get out on the road and kick some ass!
My love for biking never faded out, even as I went to school on a bicycle right till the XII standard! The reason why I never requested for a Dish or Cable connection at home, never cared.. or abandoned my Video Game, was this. 


You think that's crazy :P I'll add more. This adventure race, held around Pune every year, Enduro3, which I participated in 2010 demands a lot of cycling! Roughly, I biked around for 80kms in two days :O No exaggeration here, sir! None! ...Funny(& awesome), that I found an unclaimed Apple iPod(yeah, Nano - the new-age gadget) during that race.. which we, being a team, couldn't finish :/ (and which I have already lost!)




Feel like adding a conclusion here :P So, even if we didn't have a PS3 or an Apple iPod or a PSP or a Laptop or an iPad (blimey, kids now have those too!) or a.. ok, enough! I don't wanna spoil the mood :P.... things don't matter; what is cherished is memories and we had what's precious, a childhood. 

Lucknow : Contemplations of a stroller

"I'm just writing a story that I want to read"
Here's about my hometown, not just praising or scorning it. People, places or objects are not perfect; but we still love them. Nothing else matters practically. Tried to gather minute details while strolling on the streets of Lucknow. This is an account of a tiresome but cherished outing for nearly 4 hrs. Won't take you the same to join me :-)

Source: my nookiaa mobile 2MP

It starts with me standing on a blue bridge over the Gomti River. NO. Not dreaming. Checked my totem. I use er.. sorry, pretty private.  Auto rickshaw and a city Bus. Why I was here? I'm on a 6 months official vacation. I don't have to find a reason to stroll :-) It was a spontaneous decision. And I loved every part of it. Me alone. I never miss the iPod thing though. Never.(Life mein background music hota hai #jugaad)
This part of the city is amazing. Wide clean roads, plenty of places to hang out, all the killer-hotrods vrooming, and of course the river. At a short distance was the Samajik Parivartan Sthal. The same 87 crore project that went upto 500crores.(source what State Information Commission released under RTI) Whatever be the fuss over it. This day all I could say was "this is beautiful ;-)". Junta seems to have accepted what the Maharani Mayawati built for them. Some parivartan actually.

The long roads parallel to the waters. Friends in groups, small and large, by the sandstone walls facing the river; and much obvious, couples maintaining atleast 100 metres of distance from the former :P Lively place to be. The syndrome of facing the sun over the view of water had seemingly caught many. Those faces; pensive, determined and ambitious. Thumbsup to those guys. I love to be that way. And if you're lucky enough wind blowing against your face. Awesome. Openings in the boundary railings that lead down to the river, caught my sight. Scanned the area, only to spot a boy and three girls smoking down there. Geez!! Goosebumps. None of my business, but that's bizarre! hiding and acting cool. Misconceptions of a lifetime. Get a life, ladies.

A complete contrast, the road opposite has been named Marine Drive. That place, to be precise has energetic vibes. Bike-freaks with some classy stunts. Luckily it was all alive then and there. Wheelies, stoppies, burn-outs and what-nots. Audience, like myself, were in numbers. Did I say I wasn't jealous? Well, I've not yet learned to ride a bike. Hahaha. Do what you can. Some youth spirit to add to Lucknow :-) I was having a great time, just when a guy on a Pulsar arrived from the other end of the road. Panicked as he was, the only words I heard was "MAAMU". Suddenly all the bikes kicked-off and sped away. I was confused. Why on earth are the audience dispersing? Out of question! I'm not running, I decided. After all I was on a stroll! Earphones back on. Three bikers who went the wrong way initially, rode back to where I was. Real geniuses, thought that guy's maamu was giving a treat over there. Hahaha. Now, hearts in their mouths. I could see a Police Jeep following at a distance. They stopped, locked their bikes and jumped across the pavement. Hilarious. Especially after the policemen stopped and dragged those bikes, abusing loud at the top of their voices. Never heard someone utter in hindi with such passion. Everyone had run away, me the only witness. So I decided to slip out of there.

Much of happenings here. I had to hire an auto rickshaw. One auntieji and her bitia to share it with me. Tension all around. Next stop - Hazratgang. Yes. This is one familiar place. Have been Ganjing ever since I was a kid. Any Lucknowite of my age will tell you the same story. Before I could carry on walking on these streets, I decided to grab an Ice-Tea. Just love it. Headed towards Sahara Ganj, McDonald's. Its about this city. You won't find likes of Ice-Tea anywhere else. True atleast for the parts of Lucknow I've known. And FYI Sahara Ganj is a mall. And damn right, I was in a mall just for Ice-Tea.

Sahara Ganj. This must have been a game-changer for thousands of families in Lucknow, ever since it was opened in December, 2005. EPIC. I remember, being a kid I used to go out with family to visit the likes of Budhha Park, Elephant Park and many others. Changing trends, now one can see families sitting in the  "Ganj-maaal" eating Ice-creams :P This is a new kinda outing. Crowded, no doubt!! Every time, this day too. In the afternoons, another cadre joins in - the school kiddos, in their clumsy uniforms and lazily hanging school-bags. Probably attending another of their extra-class. Damn I used to hate school-uniforms! The only place I could go with them on was SCHOOL. Another set of goosebumps, had any of them been here.


Not ready for the Metro tag. Well, I did my job and got back on track.  Just outside the mall, were nearly a dozen of cycle rickshaw-pullers, looking at me with hopeful eyes. Giving them an obvious reaction - I'm gonna write about this one, you fools! The shops in the lane to the left from where I was. Updated in a lowly manner. Airtel Voucher. Vodafone New SIM @XX rs. And many more, under the same roof. A hundred n/w operator mini-malls on this road. Our country works this way. I'm a mobilophobic so I moved straight ahead.

Source: My nookiaa mobile again.

Here I was at the heart of the city (Gomti Nagar waalo, your thoughts might differ). The spirit of Ganjing took me over. This place was still the same as it had been 12 years back when I had first come to Lucknow. The Universal Book Depot , Sahu talkies, and ofcourse Royal Cafe and Nawab's Restaurant. They have all been there for years, as lively as ever before.  In fact the only piece of Modernistic architecture one can find over there is the ICICI building. The best part, on this road I didn't find any Laptop store or the generic Mobile stores. Of course there is Naza market for these.

One more thing about Lucknow that won't ever change, the presence of white Ambassadors. Anyone living in a state capital would connect with this. But as there is a Mayawati-version to everything in the city - the Mahindra Scorpios carrying BSP flags. It is annoying, the exxtraa-loud horns in ambassadors. And even the drivers of these vehicles carry the tashan that there masters flaunt. Well, that's true about Lucknow people as a whole. Wonder what Delhi would be like. I've never been there and never want to. That's out of general dislike for Delhi and Delhites (no offense unintended).


What earlier used to be depicted as a City of Tehzeeb, and the Pehle-Aap nazaakat, seems to be struggling to maintain its prestige. But the man in that small shop seemed to be quite pleasant, where I asked for coca-cola in the glass bottle. Chilling and refreshing. Paid for it and another can that I slid into the bag hanging behind me. Another FYI, softdrinks in glass bottle, plastic, cans and fountain, all do taste differently. I've had enough debates over this one :P I saw a statue of Rabindra Nath Tagore by the side. Had never noticed before! Some benefit of loitering around :-) Moreover it was comforting to see that there have been public figures in the history other than Dr. Ambedkar whom Lucknowites admire. Don't miss the n number of roads named after him, parks and now even the State Transport Bus Station. That's the harsh effect of witnessing a political metamorphosis upon a city capital.

This was the MG Road. There stood Marksmen. The yummy Chicken burger. Gone bhagwan ka aadmi a few days. NO.(if you read bhaagywaan ka aadmi) Missed the "Fast Food" part in its name. They prepare everything from the desi cuisine now. Mayfair Cinema, that told the sad story of once the best cinemas in Lucknow. Has been shut for years now. On the other side, high up above was visible the massive Cross of the Church. Beautiful. It was visible from all streches of aforementioned  MG Road. Moving ahead I crossed The Cheap Store. I'd been here before. I couldn't help noticing it. The board was still the same. PZ with a Perk XL. No other emotional crap.

Youth was out there enjoying the beautiful weather and some company. I noticed "amaa yaar" had become prominent enough to be coined the unofficial TAKIA KALAAM of the city. People told me, I never agreed before. Ego-thing. As was evident in a  short conversation between two friends (overheard, can't help it (but those men needed help for sure (Ya..Ya..I know, parenthesis suck)))

Chhaprii1- Male around 25, losing hair, but T tight. visibly gyming night and day
Chhaprii2 - Male around 25 again, long hair (seemingly Kaminey effect, resulting in a disaster), Not engaged for sure and too many rings on his fingers.

Chhaprii1 : bhaii aaj chalo tumko chiiiikan laalypop(chicken lollypop, he meant) khilaate hain (a hand up in the air - too happy with his idea)
Chhaprii2 : amaa yaar chuppe baitho yahiin, hum kahiin nai jaayenge. faam dhalne do. Okay, he said shaam
(Needless to say they had been leering at items during all this time. Cheesy)

I wanted to burst out laughing at what I had realized.

That's just one instance of what I heard on that one event. Without wondering what they'll finally do, I moved on and took out my can. NO, not the Pepsi one. My-own-personal&purchased-can of Coca Cola. I had kilometers to walk before I reach home. Office hours over, heavy traffic was on the roads. GPO clock tower - admirable. Vidhan Sabha was also on the way. No RED ALERT today. No benches came flying out of the window. Mulayam Singh must've been in Delhi. Moving on from the broad roads of Ganj, the width seemed decreasing every metre. And vehicle density increasing. Commotion enough to trouble a pedestrian. I somehow managed  to avoid making my perfect day unpleasant. Ah, here's Sulabh! NO. Not the museum thingummy.

Skipping the aahaaa part, now I was on the Aishbagh road. Had been walking some 5 kms already. Run Forrest Run! NO. Thats not what came to my mind. The Ojha Chat. Yeah, I need salts - my mind is a genius, just doesn't support me all the time. Paani ke batashe. The name questioned and voted against by many, is what we call the panipuri of Mumbai and around. Will miss this definitely in Pune. Short break and back on the roads. Now even if I stop, my legs have a pseudo-motion in the forward direction. So I didn't quite stop. Last thing I remember noticing(which practically was the only thing noticeable in residential areas) was the Kirana stores. With an exceptional rice-to-cosmetics range. Kirana store is the common noun these shops adopt; where the proper noun part can vary from Pappu to Sonu.

In the end, home sweet home. Needless to mention, the best part of the city :-) Four hours of aimless wandering on the streets of Lucknow, The Constantinople of India. Doesn't bother me though - this name; I've never been to Constantinople anyway. The spirit lives right here within me. And as I said before, perfect or imperfect. A mechanical version of a Utopian society. Man, this city breathes! NOPE again. Not pollution-free!
PS- fact check for the blind and obsessed.