Blog-Prompt Day 2 - Thirst

I blogged about Lucknow's Bara Mangal last year . One year later.. it's same place same time and the blog prompt for the day is Thirst. That's just so appropriate.

For the record the festival is in honour of Lord Hanuman and was started off my a muslim ruler of Awadh, Nawab Shuja Ud Daulah. It's one of my favourite 'Lucknow' stories and of course a favourite Lucknow festival too. The roads are dotted with cheery pandals, some huge ones and some just as large as a table holding a pot of water and glasses. Bhajans blare out at crossings and the roads wear a festive look. Water and sherbet are the most popular fare on offer, a blessing in the Lucknow heat. That's not all though. Some stalls have the yummiest ever aaoloo, puri, chhole, halwa and boondi. Our surly but rather enterprising man Friday also claimed to have treated himself to some free kadhi-chawal. The menu's getting more eclectic by the year. The bottomline is that no one in Lucknow goes thirsty or hungry on Bara Mangal.

That's the huge Sahara India stall


Could do without the littering!

The heat this year (We were at 43.9 degrees yesterday) seemed to have dampened the fervour a bit. There were fewer stalls and the mela seemed a bit thanda. That's not to say I didn't manage my bit of puri aaloo and it was as delicious as it is every year, a flavour I just cannot replicate in my kitchen much as I try.

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