Adaab, from the gali kooche of Lucknow

Wandering the streets of Qaiser Bagh the walled palace complex of the last Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah we reach Safed Baradari a magnificent white marble palace built by him initially as a lsquoPalace of Mourningrsquo for Azadaari honouring Imam Hussain and his followers at KarbalaSet on an elevated platform the open pavilion with 12 doors hence baradari intricate Islamic motifs geometric patterns calligraphy and floral designs adorning its walls and pillars exudes a regal charm even today close to two centuries after it was made It offered the perfect venue for the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival MSLF which has been celebrating Lucknowrsquos culture and communities since 2010 More than 25000 people attended the fest this year its 16th this time themed around Lucknow ke gali koocheA mesmerising concert in which tribal singers of Bastar performed a jugalbandi with Mumbairsquos art rock band DairaIn an exclusive chat with Sunday midday Madhavi Kuckreja founder of MSLF shared ldquoThe festival this year is based on something very special to us So our curation around the lsquogali koochersquo thememdashincluding the literary guftagu food exhibits and performancesmdashshowcase a Lucknow that exists maybe not for the whole city The oral history documentation is the jaan of this festival and the street food and stalls from home chefs offer a variety including chaats farra nihari kulcha and kebabs The Kohinoor of the fest is the home chefs because people who donrsquot have access to them otherwise can get to taste signature recipes passed down from generation Some people fly in just for it In two hoursmdashall is sold outrdquoJay Shah Vice President Head Cultural Outreach Mahindra Group says ldquoLike every year this year too the team has put in a lot of effort to able to deep dive into the culture of Lucknow through the lens of the gali kooche of the city Streetscapes tell a thousand tales about a cityrsquos history and culturemdashand the aim is to bring alive those stories and the cultural nuances of the cityrsquos bylanes through installations storytelling and food and not to forget the art which is the backbone of this festivalrdquoThe Mango We Donrsquot Know Conversation with from left Himanshu Bajpai Sopan Joshi and Jamal KidwaiThis festival honours the late Indira Mahindra whose legacy in Lucknowrsquos arts and culture remains timelessOn day one last weekend we attended the inauguration along with Mashakganj ki galiyon mein kya hua with Sabika Abbas a fashion show depicting works by the artisans at the craft bazar and a soulful musical experience by O Gaanewali featuring Avanti Patel and Rutuja Lad We had dinner at Salempur House with some Addebaazi listening to our favourite Urdu blues singer Sameer Rahat The following day we went with Deep Dive India for a Francisi Awadhi Tarsquoalluqaat that gave us a glimpse of the French influence on the citymdashsomething very few people talk about As the back story goes the chattar manzilrsquos Farhat Baksh Kothirsquos original name was Martin Villa built in 1781 by Major General Claude Martin as his residence It offers a fantastic piece of IndoFrench architecture with a twostorey building the lower part of which touched the river Gomti and the upper floor had a large hall where 4000 books were kept in English and French His last wish was to be buried at La Martiniere after his death another fascinating piece of IndoFrench architecture that we were privileged to glimpse Kids had fun at the Masti ki Pathshala listening to puppet stories and learning to make some too The evening was listening to Sopan Joshirsquos mango tales along with Himanshu Bajpai and Jamal Kidwai followed by a brilliant session on Baitbaazi a traditional game of Urdu poetry that involves composing and reciting verses Qawwali by Shahid Sami Niyazi Brothers of Rampur Gharana ended the night on a high noteThe following day we set out for breakfast at Mall Kothi in Malihabad a village famed for its mango orchards We explored the ancestral kothi of the zamindars of Mall home to Bhupendra Singh fondly known as Lallan Raja and his wife Bhavna Singh who belongs to the royal family of Udaipur The current generation led by his son Dushyant Singh passionately preserves this familyrun heritage property ensuring its rich legacy remains accessible to true connoisseursMirch ka salan served as a part of an elaborate Awadhi dinner at Rishad Rizvirsquos homeLunch was a delightful experience at the Sunday Home Cooked Food Festival which celebrated local flavours That evening we witnessed something truly specialmdashDairarsquos Jadoo Bastar a mesmerising concert in which the tribal singers of Bastar performed a breathtaking jugalbandi with art rock band DairaMonday morning we explored the batashe wali gali and Marwari gali in Amindabad and later we had one of the most breathtaking Awadhi evenings with Gaana Aur Khana where we were enchanted by Umrana Niyazi and her grouprsquos soulful renditions followed by an unforgettable homecooked Awadhi dinner at Rishad Rizvirsquos maginificient home at Ahmad Husain ki KothiThe stage at the Safed Baradari a magnificent white marble palace built by Wajid Ali ShahAt Safed Baradari the crafts bazaar left you spoilt for choice Naghma Parveen Director Crafts and Research MSLF says ldquoThis year from 350 applications received 107 stalls were shortlisted The idea was to include varied brands and different tribal crafts brought to the city for the first time This year the two most popular stalls with most sales were the phulkari and chikankari craftrdquoKuckreja adds ldquoIt feels good to witness that peoplersquos taste in craft has come back to buying handmade items Lucknow as a city is known for its artisans and most of these were giving up hope with the mall culture that has taken over But now people like handmade work buy it and wear itrdquoSpeaking of the robust programming that included 42 events Tasveer Hasan Director Creative and Exhibits shared ldquoThe performances were curated with emphasis on different forms of creativitymdashfrom concerts at dawn to qawwali evenings and an incredible headbanging performance by artistse from Bastar We worked with artists across the country and many were from the heart of Lucknow The heritage tours also received an overwhelming response from people from all over India who attended the fest out of sheer love for the cityrdquoHow to get there thinspFrequent flights to and from Lucknowrsquos international airport between Mumbai Delhi Patna Bangalore and Hyderabad thinspRegular trains for Lucknow run from Mumbai Delhi Kolkata Patna and Chennai thinspLuxury deluxe and State Transport buses ply between Kanpur Delhi Agra and Varanasi among other cities