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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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Colours

This is the first time ever that I’m attempting to post every day. Since I’m not home it’s going to be even more of a challenge to come up with pictures or to make time for a post. But it’s just for a week so I’m jumping right in.
 
Here’s my entry for Blog-A-Prompt Day 1
 
Colours

BANGLES, Picture Credit: The Sister



 

If ever there was a person for bright colours it’s me. The pastels, the browns, the greys quite literally pale in comparison with the scarlets, the royal blues, the turquoise’s, the fuchsias, the emeralds and the oranges. That’s one reason I can never come up with a favourite colour. I so love them all… together – quite like these bangles here.

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Dal Lake

Thursday Challenge : WET (Beverages, Rain, Swimming Pool, Fountain, Puddle, Water,…)

Another one from the sister’s kashmir trip. The famous Dal lake with it’s equally famous shikaras (houseboats).

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Boo to the party planner

I’m not a good party planner. Each time something comes up I think and plan and get all ambitious then it’s never quite as good as I’d intended it to be. The best parties I’ve ever had have been the ones I haven’t planned for. This was one such.

We’ve been shifting.. nothing big just next door, to a house that’s a mirror image of our old one. It’s quite funny actually and we keep reaching out for door handles on the wrong side and the rooms are just all topsy turvey … a bit like Alice stepping through the looking glass.

During the shifting I stumbled upon some last years’ party supplies. While I intended to reuse them The Husband, made me throw them out calling me a ‘hoarder of useless stuff’. However, to my secret delight, the kids retrieved all of it and decided to have a party.

I was just glad to have them out of the way and allowed them to have their party as long as they stayed in their room.

A flurry of calls on the intercom and Naisha’s friends trooped in ready for action. They got down to decorating their room while discussing what they should have the party for.

After a few hours, yes hours, of diligent decoration they decided they’d push the party to the evening. “Decoration takes soooo much time,” sighed one of the girls busily wiping sweat from her little forehead. They hung up streamers, decorated a table, did up the windows, blew balloons and even managed to fill one up with thermacol balls with no help from me. Oh these girls are veterans.

I had a plain chocolate cake which I decorated like this (from the momviews.com). Thanks Swapna. (https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=513196348726532&set=a.490859950960172.104065.213652222014281&type=1&theater)

A bowl of chips and some juice and the menu was done. I really didn’t have time for anything fancy.

After much thought and discussion it was decided it would be a ‘my favourite toy birthday party’. Innovative isn’t it? Come evening they trooped in with their toys all dressed up for the occasion. They put on masks and caps,

burst balloons,

cut the cake,

and danced
and danced

and danced.
Check out the happy faces..

So next time I should remember to never plan a party.
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