Hi Everyone,After seeing Nilima Dahat's message in my guestbook in which she said my train had got stuck in Pune I realized that it was time to contribute something to my blog.
Well folks it is that time of the year again when Bengalis get into the annual festival mood. Maa Durga is coming , she will soon be here with us and there is no time left.
I will be spending my holidays at my hometown, Lucknow. So my train or rather my plane is going to turn northwards this time.
I will be visiting North India after almost 16 years. So I cannot express my delight and anticipation at the prospect of seeing the Gangetic plain again. For those who don't belong to that part of India, the Northern Plain will be just a flat piece of land. But it is not so for us who belong there... it has some of the world's best mango orchards (Dussheri aam) that were planted by the Mughals originally. Then there are the great rivers fed by the Himalayan glaciers. In between the orchards and rivers are the most fertile fields of the world that feed most of India.
I know that at this time in Lucknow all the shiuli flowers will be in bloom, the ponds will be full of blue and pink lotus flowers , the Durga pandals are being set up, shops are filling up their stock and the sound of the Maa Durga's dhak will be heard soon. Ramlila mandals are getting their act together. They too will be performing non stop during Navaratri till Vijaydashami.
Nature is clean and green because the monsoons have done their Municipal Corporation act and cleaned up the environment.
Amidst all this  nostalgia and  excitement I will visit you, my beloved city.. after so long that I had almost forgotten you dear Lucknow amidst the hectic  life of Mumbai. 
But  suddenly you have surfaced proving that  loved places like loved friends are never forgotten.

I will refamiliarize myself with my hometown because people have told me a lot has changed. Of course some old places will be there, for example the Residency and the Dilkhusha Gardens where the War of 1857 was fought 150 years ago. So will the monuments and palaces built by the Nawabs of Awadh be standing majestically. The old shops, gardens and  bungalows are there for people like me to see and feel at home again.
However in my own neighbourhood many neighbours of my parents' generation are no more.  Their places have been taken up by unknown faces. Will I be welcomed as warmly by them? Will those who knew me in my college days be still there? Will I still be greeted with warm smiles ?

I pray the change has been superficial and that the essence of Lucknow has remained the same because when I return to Mumbai  I want to carry a bit of MY Lucknow  with me. But this time I'll make sure that my beloved city stays in the foreground of my memories. I will not let Mumbai overpower my hometown. Because the moment you  let go of your memories you  lose  a part of yourself.

Bye everyone for now..
More from me after the Pujas are over!!!
Love,
Joyoti