Lucknow United: Holi colours all...

LUCKNOW: For people across the country, the Festival of Colours might be an especially joyous festival, but the colourful gaiety with which the City of Nawabs celebrates Holi is probably unmatched.
And while we talk about celebrations in Lucknow, the Holi celebrations in Chowk deserve a special mention. Ask any denizen of Lucknow, and the answer you''ll get is: All roads lead to Chowk when one talks of Holi celebrations.
"The kind of Holi that is played in Chowk cannot be seen anywhere else in the city, and the procession specially, is enthralling," remarks AK Mishra who has been a regular participant of the Holi celebrations in Chowk.
The highlight of these celebrations is the Holi procession in which, thousands of revellers gather to play with colours and enjoy themselves. "The sight of the procession is remarkable, with thousands of people dancing together and throwing colours at each other, and accompanied by horses, camels and elephants. It is almost surreal," says AK Mishra.
As the procession — which starts out from Chowpatia — moves towards Akbari gate, it is joined by Muslims too who participate in the celebrations with equal fervour as their Hindu brethren.
"The beauty of these celebrations here are the flowers. Women and children stand on their terraces and balconies and throw flower petals onto the people below as the procession passes by. People also throw a lot of gulal on them. The flowers intermingled with the colourful gulal makes the atmosphere joyful. The best part is that Hindus and Muslims play colours together," enthuses Manoj Kumar Awasthi another faithful participant in the Holi celebrations in Chowk.
Gayatri Tandon, whose family members are among the main participants of the procession, is excited that Holi is just around the corner.
"The procession takes the revellers to a higher plane... it is as if they belong to a different world," she exudes. An addition to the celebrations, is the famous thandai that is sold at the decades-old famous Raja Thandai, in Chowk.
Vinod Kumar Tripathi, is the proud owner of this thandai shop, that has catered to the likes of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee amongst a host of others. "I have been here since 1964 and I am thrilled to be a part of the Holi celebrations in this area," says Tripathi.
The business at his shop sees an exponential growth during the Holi festivities. While on normal days the shop sells thandai worth Rs 2,000, when Holi comes around, the daily earnings fluctuate between Rs 25-30,000 says Tripathi.
For those who come to Chowk to witness the unique and harmonious Holi celebrations, the thandai is an indispensable part of the festivities. "I have been coming here for the past 35 years, and one thing I never miss out on, is the thandai," remarks Manoj Awasthi.