Lucknow, my first love.

Hi,

I have been reading blogs for many years now, and I have been writing ever since I laid my hands on a computer. But I never thought I'd have the time to write my own blog and voice my opinion in such a manner. That is to say that I always made an excuse, not to go public. But then, someone I met online, who also blogs, got me thinking. If she can do it, with her job, theatre and so many things, I can't make excuses anymore. So, here I am writing my first blog.

I wanted to start out by writing something about Lucknow. Now Lucknow is unlike any other city that I have lived in or visited even. It is a metro in the making (soon will have its own Metro rail too), while their are still some areas which haven't changed. And if they were to change, we wouldn't know then to be Lucknow anymore. Its a city bursting on the edges and quite literally so. I remember going to relatives place in Aliganj(for those familiar with the geography) used to be a whole day affair. Today I travel from Chinhut to chowk, and twice over, without batting an eyelid. It is also a city where everyone is ready to welcome you with a hearty smile, even if you are a stranger, and the old adage "Pehle Aap" is still there. While I was working away from home, I used to miss it, and on my visits back home, I would often try and listen to it in the streets while Ganjing.

Although both, Pehle Aap and Ganjing can take up plenty of space here, but I'd like to move on for now. In my experience, Lucknow is also a city that people fall in love with. I have had friends who lived in the hostel, and used to be all praise about their home towns, but today, they call it there favourite city. Even people from metros like Delhi can't do without it. Some people found their love, their better halfs even, in this city. And a few had their hearts broken here as well and yet they keep coming back here. This city is like that, that people fall in love with it. I knew, even before Orkut or Facebook, (where people would change their mood every few hours), I love Lucknow, I used to say, proudly. I remember this girl in collge once asking me if I have ever loved anyone and I said without a thought, I love this city, I love Lucknow.

Although, I might have been naive in my answer, for the matter at hand, I meant it that day, as I do today. I love Lucknow.