जब छोड़ चले लखनऊ नगरी,
कहो हाल आदम पर क्या गुजरी ।
--- शतरंज के खिलाडी (1977)
[When I left the city of Lucknow,
How can I tell, what I felt.]
---Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977)
I was running fast. Few goons
were behind me. I saw a flyover in front of me. It’s Nishatganj flyover (yes! I
was running on the streets of Lucknow). I went up to the flyover and jumped
from there and landed in front of ‘Umrao’ cinema hall. Keeping the cinema hall
to my left, I ran towards ‘Nilgiri’. I was surprised, why streets were so
silent. Suddenly my phone rang. Who could it be? Little bit terrified, I picked
up the call.
“Hello…Hellooo”.
“Hey duffer, it’s your alarm.”
said my roommate while he was brushing his teeth.
“Thank God.” I exclaimed. My
laptop was lying beside me wide open. Last night I slept while playing some
shooting game in my laptop. Its 7:30 in the morning and today I have to get
tatkal reservation to my home. I will be leaving in two days, I guess, for
always. And for today; it’s my last day at my office. As I reached my office, I
started meeting all my friends. And I had to go for tea with each, as they
said, “Chal tere saath aakhiri chai ho jaye! (Let’s have a last cup of tea with
you).” I don’t remember how many cups I had but that day must have been a record
for me!
My two year stay in Lucknow was
very pleasant. This city has modernized itself, keeping its ancient flavour
intact. As you enter the railway station, don’t read the name of the station on
board; the architecture of the building will tell you that you are in the ‘City
of Nawabs’. And then you smile.
ज़रा मुशकुराइये, आप लखनऊ में है ।
The buildings from olden days are
not demolished and multi-floor shopping-mall erected; instead they are
renovated and decorated. Of course you have malls, but they have not replaced
anything. Come to Hazaratganj market area, all branded showrooms inside as you
cross those circular palace doors. If you wish to have the old shopping
experience, come to Aminabad market area. Here shops are characterized by number
of years of their service. Many of them have fifth generation of their owner
sitting over the counter. The market is said to be more than 200 years old. And
that’s the beauty of this market. Caution: don’t come here if you have sore
throat; you have to bargain here a lot! ‘Kulfi’ and ‘Tunday Kabab’ are famous
here. You must taste it. Aminabad reminds me of an incident- Once my friend,
Rakesh and I was returning from this market, we took the city-transport, a 8-seater
auto, we met an old man with two huge bundles of small bangles. Rakesh complained
due to inconvenience caused to the leg space by those huge bundles. He replied
with smile in poetic style, “Char pal ka rasta hai, bas janab gujar hi jayega!
[Few moments of journey, it will just pass sir!]” I felt a good Lukhnawi in
him. An old person like him would carry a lot of history on his shoulder, which
are a real dearth in books; a history from the perspective of a common man. I
started to talk to him about his occupation and life in Lucknow.
Me:
“Aur chacha, kahan le ja rahe hai iin churio ko? [Uncle, where are you taking
these bangles?]”
Bangle
man (BM): “Bas, bechne ja rahe hai. [For selling purpose.]”
Me:
“Raat ke sarhe saat baje kahan bechenge? [At 7:30 in the evening?]”
BM:
“Isse hum thook mei kharid kar la rahe hai seth k paas se, kal se bechne
lagange. [I have bought it in wholesale, I will start selling from tomorrow.]”
Me:
“Kahan bechte hai isse? Kisi dukandar ko ya aapki apni dukan hai? [Whom do you
sell? To any shopkeeper, or you have your own shop?]”
BM: “Apni ek
choti si dukan hai Chinhat (a place in Lucknow) mei, par hum ghar ghar ja kar
bhi bechte hai. Aap lenge apne ghar ke liye, Koi behan ya bhatiji ho toh? [I
have a small shop at Chinhat (a place in Lucknow), but I also sell at
doorsteps. Would you take some for your home? For your sister or niece?]”
Me: “Arre nahi
nahi, yahan mera koi nahi hai. [No, no. I don’t have anyone here.]”
BM: “Janab
Dekhiye toh. Aap na kharidiye, par isski khubsoorti toh dekhiye, agar aapko
accha lage tarif kar dijiyega, yehi meri kamai hai. [Just have a look. Don’t
buy but look at the beauty. If you like it, just admire it, that is my wage.]”
Hmm. He was a
veteran salesman. We could not say no; but we didn’t say yes either. But
without looking for our response, he started unpacking his bundle. Then he took
out beautiful bangles of various colors viz. blue, red, green and pink. Golden
streaks were put on the bangles, which displayed a beautiful sparkle when
any street light fell on it. I noticed the sizes of bangles; its diameter was
not more than one and a half inch.
I inquired, “Ye
churia kuch jyada hi choti nahi hai? [Isn’t
the size of bangles too small?]”
He answered, “Ye
bachchiyon ke liye hai. Wo din gaye jab larkiya humse churia kharidti thi. Aab
wo bare-bare dukano mei jati hai. [These are for kids. Gone are those days,
when girls used to buy from us. Now they go to bigger shops]”
‘Yes, they do
deject bangles now. But the day Armani shall launch its new apparels-the
bangles, it shall be in vogue again. And it would be bought with admiration in
much-much higher price.’ I murmured to myself.
He continued, “Aaj
ke jamane mei churi walon ki kadra nahi hai, par pahle, hum jis jagah ruk jate
wahan churiyan hatho hath bik jati. Waise hamari churia kafi mazboot hai, aap
lijie aur sidhi kar ke dabaiye. Ye nahi tutegi. [Nowadays we are not welcome
against those good olden days when we used to sell in the doorstep. Wherever we
stopped, bangles would sell in an instant. By the way, my bangles are very
strong, take it and try to squeeze it keeping it vertical, it won’t break.]”
I replied, “Kyun
nahi tut sakta hai, ye toh bas kaanch ki churia hai. Aur agar tut gaya toh? [Why
can’t it break it’s just a bangle made up of glass. What if it breaks?]”
He said, “Ye
nahi tutegi, aur agar tut bhi jaye to wo mera hi nuksaan hai. [It won’t break.
Even if it breaks, it’s my loss.]”
I choose five bangles;
all blue colored, and put it vertically between my two palms. I put pressure of
medium magnitude. It remained still. I put some more pressure. It withstood that.
I analyzed scientifically that how come it is withstanding a good amount of
pressure. Keeping the bangle vertically we are providing only centripetal force
and owing to its small size it becomes tougher to break. But there has to be
some limit; I mean it can’t withstand the weight of a bulldozer whatsoever be
its orientation. I was little bit reluctant to put severe pressure on it
fearing if it broke it would hurt my hands badly. I gave up saying ‘it’s really
tough.’ Suddenly Rakesh, unable to conceive the notion that bangles can be such
tough, took it from me. He pressed it hard, then harder. It was clearly visible
on his countenance. And finally it broke!
But the poor
old man very cleverly turned his failure into a note of Rakesh’s admiration, “Bhai
itni jor lagaoge toh sarkare hill jayengi; ye churian kya cheez hai! [So much
force can even shake the government, what to say about these bangles.]”
Inside me I
felt little bit guilty, that he incurred a loss due to us. I thought of paying
him but stopped. Won’t it hurt his ego? We have already shaken his faith over
his bangles; his much faithful, age old love, his bangles. I was in dilemma,
struck between my guilt and his ego. Suddenly he offered each of us few bangles,
blue bangles.
I protested, “Hamne
pehle hi aapka kafi nuksaan kar diya hai. Waise bhi mera pariwar yahan nahi
rehta hai aur na hi mai aas-paros ke kisi bachche ko janta hun. [We have
already done a loss to you. Further none of my family member is here. And even I
don’t know any kid in my neighborhood.]”
He said, “Tohfa
hai. Bas rakh lijiye. [It’s a gift. Just keep it.]”
“Nishatganj,
Nishatganj, anyone Nishatganj.” The driver shouted looking at passengers. Our
stop had come. He was going to Chinhat. We need to visit the Royal Enfield
showroom in Nishatganj. We just said ‘thank you’ and got down. As I was paying
my fare, an idea struck me. I paid the complete fair of the bangle man to the
driver and instructed him not to take any fare from him. Obviously I didn’t
tell this to the bangle man.
This is the spirit
of what I am taking about; a spirit to respect, a spirit to admire, a spirit to
live happy, a spirit to lead a good life. Lucknow is a city of good gesture. It
has taught me a good deal of life. This one of the moment took so long narration,
I have lots of moment from Lucknow to treasure. That’s why this city is called “The
Golden City Of East”. Needless to say I will miss Lucknow a lot.
[Published in पंचक्रोशी ( panchkroshi), Smarika 2013, on occasion of visamwaad saptam, the annual meet of sarjana-vitaan cum literature workshop]
