Lucknow...

You are the Lucknow for me.
The lehza and the tehzeeb,
The white chikan salwaar-kameez,
The Urdu that never sounded
The way it did
When you spoke.
The talks, the smile,
And the silence that it broke.

You are the Lucknow for me,
The toe rings and the nose pins,
The glitter and the large earrings,
The kohl around your eyes,
The love of wearing bangles,
The folklore and the folk music,
The loud weddings.

You are the Lucknow for me,
The way you say aap to me,
And say hum when you mean I,
The shukriyas and the aadabs,
And of course the ‘wah janab’s,

You are the Lucknow for me,
The glitz of Hazratganj,
The traditions of the Chungis,
The mehendis on the hand
And the beautiful bindis.
Hand pump water with metal-tanginess,
Sugarcanes eaten on terraces.

You are the Lucknow for me,
The love of literature,
the nerd, the scholar,
the wannabe journalist in you,
the show-off-I-got-100-out-of-100 in you,

You are the Lucknow for me,
The sweetness of hot jalebis,
The spicy kachori and samosas,
Hot like the CCD cappuccinos.

You will be forever in a sweet corner of the heart.
The forgotten, pushed away,
Hidden parts of me,
The lekins and the agars in me,
The shayaads and kaashs in me…