Sheroes Hangout Lucknow: After Agra, now its here to make a difference.

Sheroes Hangout Lucknow- the first of its kind of cafe in lucknow is the 2nd hangout of Sheroes after the resounding success of the agra café. Inaugurated this women`s day, this was my priority to see how this one fares amongst the clutter of the more expensive cafes in the city. Inviting my friend Arsh to meet ( been ages since I met him) here, this place did not disappoint me in any way. 

                                        

Those who have little clue that what is so special about this café here is the short history quickly. Sheroes cafes are run by acid attack victims. They give them another chance at life, a chance to be fighters again. Founded by Chaanv Foundation and acid attack victims it gives them a chance to stop the stigma surrounding being an acid attack victim. 2014 , the first café was opened in agra near the taj mahal and lucknow is the 2nd café with another one coming up in Udaipur, Rajasthan. 

The other cafes normally are air conditioned pigeon holes and sheroes hangout at lucknow is a welcome change for all those who love open spaces. You can find this place infront of the Ambedbar Sthal in Gomti Nagar, near Hotel Renaissance if you are still clueless about the location. The covered area is adorned with comfortable jute sofas and big tables and a seating capacity of atleast 50 people in total (not to mention a that you can make use of the open space in the evening too). The red sandstone structure provides a welcome change and respite with big wooden chick blinds (been decades since I last saw them anywhere). The pillars are adorned with cute graphical cartoons and a bookshelf running across the whole of the seating space with quite a few books to read for all ages right from small children to elder people. I don’t know how to review places but I would try my best to do this. So let’s start one by one as they try to guide you what to expect at this place.

Ambience – Quite good. The quietness of the location would appeal to a lot of people and its in stark contrast to the more noisy counterparts found at various other places in the city. The day it might be windy, that day you might have a few issues with the dust blowing in but be assured that the warm wooden chicks would help. It would appeal to a lot of people who prefer the simple plain old charm. The various cartoons on the pillars across the whole sitting would capture your eye. The sitting spaces consist of comfortable jute sofas with space to seat five people at one table.

Farha on the counter and the menu alongside

Food – Considering that its a small café, then also you can easily find a menu of some 15 to 16 items including beverages. The menu does changes. The items are quite cheap and pocket friendly with tea and coffee starting from some 20 to 30 bucks and the more expensive chilly paneer going on to 120. There are a lot more options with sandwiches, pakoras (fritters), noodles etc etc and various other snacks. As I was there to meet up my friend so didn’t gorge too much on food but what we tasted was good enough in both taste and quality.

Pic clicked with consent. Stop acid attacks on t shirt.

Service – Although this cafe is run by acid attack victims but it surely employs few other women too and they are prompt and efficient in the service. Just make sure that you order your items at the counter itself because the ladies employed don’t take orders at the tables, they only serve them. Majority of those ladies are seen wearing stop acid attack T-shirts to make people aware about them. The counter is managed by farha (when I went), who is a survivor herself and she can help you in case you are confused as to what to order. The menu is handwritten by coloured chalk on a blackboard.

Other things – Just behind the counter you would find a wall with various abstract cartoons. Just to the left of it is a photo wall of all the five survivors of this cafe and their trip to the various locations in agra. There is a small space modelled like a small amphitheatre for live performances, which is also used by the youth coming there for animated discussions. As you wait for someone, you can also pass your time browsing through the collection of books they have. You might have read more of the new ones but it never hurts book lovers to catch up on Nancy Drew, Robinson Crusoe and maybe other childhood books and other more fiction titles.

Books

Prices – They don’t pinch your pocket that’s for sure. Looking at the overpriced beverages at other places, beverages and snack items are good in quality and okay. The agra cafe runs on “pay as you wish concept” but as of now the Lucknow outlet has a rate system which might shift to the pay as you wish concept in the near future.

With this place being just across the road from the ambedkar sthal , you can expect a decent crowd of people at any time of the day. They also work to rehabilitate other acid attack victims across the country, so if you know somebody who needs help you can contact them for the same. You can also donate your old books and novels to them for their library if you don’t need them any more.

The surprise which I noticed coming home was the thank you and a smiley scribbled on our bill by farha. If you wish to leave your comments, suggestions about the café, there is a visitor’s book on the counter where you can pen down your feedback. These were some of the best three hours I had spent in the cafe chatting with my friend. It was a great experience. Wish to see more of these cafes opening up in different parts of the country.

Sheroes Hangout- Located Gomti Nagar, adjacent to Lucknow Metro office.

This smiley and this msg mattered most to us :)

होली और वृन्दावन की विधवाएं

Widows of vrindavan

ज़िन्दगी के रंग बदरंग होने के बाद ये होली ,

मौका देती है गलियों में हाथ फैलाए कुछ मांगने वाली , राह तकती सफ़ेद   कपड़ों में लिपटी हुई उनको,

राधे राधे जप कर वृन्दावन की गलियों और रास्तों में रोज़ अपनी ज़िन्दगी तलाशती हुई,

आश्रमों में बाकी साथियों के साथ एक ढर्रे पे चलती ज़िन्दगी को देखती  हुई, दूसरों को रंगों में भीगते देखते हुए,

ज़िन्दगी के सफ़र पर अकेले चलती उन औरतों को अपने अकेले संसार में  कुछ रंग भरने का,

जिन्हें हम वृन्दावन की विधवाएं कहते हैं...

ज़िन्दगी के रंग तो गायब हो गए उनकी ज़िन्दगी से, होली के रंगों से खेलने का तो हक बनता है न उनका.....

प्रह्लाद, होलिका, कृष्णा , राधा और न जाने कौन कौन ...सबको हमने होली से जोड़ दिया और समाज के नाम पे अलग कर दिया " वृन्दावन की विधवाओं" को

कसूर क्या है इनका ? 

इनका कोई साथ देने वाला नहीं कोई , या परिवार के लिए यह बोझ हैं ? 

दुनिया के सामने दिखावा करने वाले इस देश में यह यह एक कड़वी सच्चाई ही हैं,

वृन्दावन आखिरी आसरा है इनका .

इस आसरे में से भी रंगों का आसरा छीन कर क्या मिलेगा हमको ?

इस देश में जब त्यौहार सबके लिए हैं तो यह निष्कासित क्यूँ होली से ?

गिले शिकवे भुलाकर खेलने वाले त्यौहार में ही समाज ने एक अलग ही दीवार खड़ी कर दी इनके लिए ,

कुछ खुल कर होली खेलती हैं , अबीर ,गुलाल के रंगों से ही सही अपने ज़िन्दगी के सफ़ेद कैनवास कुछ रंगीन रंग बिखेर लेती हैं 

सालों से कुछ सहमी हुई सिर्फ रंग की छोटी बिंदी लगा लेती हैं , पता नहीं यह बदलाव आगे भी रहे न रहे 

चाहे कुछ भी हो... 

होली के रंगों से खेलने का तो हक बनता है न उनका भी .....

The story behind this - पिछले कुछ सालों में वृन्दावन की विधवाओं ने जब से होली का त्यौहार मनाना शुरू किया, तो बस यूँ ही ख्याल आया की एक त्यौहार मनाने को लेकर लगी रोक को कायम रखकर हम ऐसे कौनसे समाज का निर्माण कर रहे हैं जो सदियों पुरानी परम्परों पर बस यूँ ही चलता आ रहा है ....

Women`s World T20: Indian team is a mix of men`s 90s team and current aggressors

The ICC Women World T20...Come on, I am not a die hard cricket fan…but I do love fights for victory. When the ICC came up with the announcement that this year the Women`s T20 world cup would be live telecasted, it was a welcome change. In the Indian team I always heard Anjum chopra, Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj. No telecasts in the past meant that I never got the chance to see them in the action when I used to follow cricket.

The start of the T20 world cup and I watched the ladies matches, with Anjum chopra now retired it was a chance to see Mithali and Jhulan, the known names in action and I must say that the Indian team reminds me of the nervous men`s team from the 1990s and the fiery aggressive team under Ganguly and Dhoni. With the matches being held alongside the male counterparts, it must have been a change for the women to see public in the stands cheering them up. It doesn’t matter whether majority of the public are eager schoolchildren cheering them on or the general public. I have watched all 3 matches – Bangladesh, Pakistan, England. The ladies are playing just like the yesteryears men`s team used to play in the sachin era – if he blasted from the start the team mounted a mt. everest of runs or crumbled. This is where the difference comes up now. In the opener against Bangladesh they went on a blitzkrieg attack on the Bangladeshis hammering 160+ score with Mithali and Vanitha on the attack from the very start hammering boundaries and the lower order joining in the party to post their highest ever total. They kind of pulverized Bangladesh just like the men used to do it earlier. The first glimpse of the mixed team from 2 different eras came to be seen in the match against Pakistan. 

Earlier the men used to be buried under expectations and pressure of the big game and used to crumble under pressure. Maybe the ladies too got under the same situation when they scored at even less than a test match runrate. At some stages it was 1.5-2. I cant say how was the pitch ( I have no knowledge) but when Harmanpreet and Veda was clocking down some useful boundaries I could hear the crowd cheering , “Veda, Veda”. They wanted a fight and the Indian team was giving them all. Last over hits saw them reach 96. India Pak women`s highest total has been 101 but I thought that 97 in 120 balls was reachable. The ladies showed the grit to fight and pulled down wickets after 48 at such regular intervals that even though Pakistan was able to hit some boundaries, the required run rate reached 6 pretty soon. The never die fight saw India take 2 wickets in 2 balls to leave Pakistan at 77 with some 20 more runs needed in 4 overs before rains came down and Mr. Duckworth made his appearance. Pakistan was ahead by just 2 runs. If India would have done a bit better, they missed an easy stumping on the 3rd last ball otherwise with 1 more wicket down Pakistan would have been well short of the target. This team can fight, it has an aggression to defend its targets. Such was the excitement that the next day when my family asked me the result and I told them , they said, “ So they (Pakistan) won by D/L, not by their own ability”. 

Today in the England match, the batting collapsed once again with the team able to make up just 90. They fought back when you consider that England were blasting away at a run rate of 5 in the powerplay. The Blues made it up into the nail biter with wickets falling even in the late 80s. I am seeing the ladies in action for the 1st time but they are making things tough for the other teams even for small totals. 

This Indian teams reminds me of the men’s team when it used to score heavily depending on the start Sachin gave them, used to crumble under pressure/big match situations if the openers failed. Sometimes the ladies are playing just like that and sometimes they are playing like the team of Ganguly/ Dhoni era which says , “ It ain`t over until its over”. C`mon giving teams a run for for their money is not easy and not in 2 successive matches. Jhulan is the Venkatesh Prasad of the team who gives her all despite not being express. Anuja, Veda, Ekta, Harmanpreet seem to me like Kumble, Bhajji, Ashwin etc. Their batting reminds me of the 90s – suspectible to pressure and their fighting spirit reminds me of the 2002 Natwest final, the Kolkata test etc. Pick whichever mens` victory it comes to your mind. I have seen the public in the stadium get behind them on every run scored, every wicket taken cheering and egging them on.

This team might not win the world cup but with the playing style of 2 decades of men`s cricket, they would surely win a lot of hearts.

WOW - Hold my hand , trust me

This story is the 1st in a trilogy of 3 real life love stories. 

Read the 2nd story : The Dripping Roof

3rd Story: Coming in the near future

“Hold my hand”, Harsh said to Varsha as it was evident from her face that she was tensed. Really tensed.

Their love story had been going on quite a few years coupled with its own ups and downs (the typical nakhras mind you). For any outsider it would seem the typical Bollywood love story in real life. The only thing was that unlike the reel one, this real one was not as easy as shown in the movies.

“You know holding your hand is the only thing which calms my ever racing heart”.

“Why??”

“Oh come on harsh. मज़ाक नहीं. You know very well that I said yes after so many years and am not ready to lose you now.”

“I don’t lose the people I love.. When I didn’t lose you after 8th and all these years, I won’t do it now. What makes you think that??”

“We haven’t told our parents about it yet. I’m working and you are doing your masters Harsh. What if they start looking for a match for me?? How do I stop my parents then?”.

“Don’t worry. I take care of it.”

It was one of the very few evenings when they could meet. Both were local and most important, the families of both of them knew each other quite well. Since childhood, their families were landlord and tenant. Varsha was the landlord`s daughter and Harsh the tenant`s son. He was the studious one when she was the pampered girl. Harsh was the challenge to Varsha’s reign over the neighborhood and that quite irked her. Once during rainy season when Harsh`s slippers had got sloshed with mud and she had laughed at him, he was so angry that he had quite badly caught hold of her hair and dragged her all the way home earning both of them a scolding and the start of a “I’ll kill you” relationship. Varsha was so pissed off that if there was a permission to kill anyone, it would be him.

Once in class 8th Harsh proposed to her, dismissing that to be childhood infatuation she said no. When his family relocated to another locality, the families were friends till then. Her parents adored him and on the many occasions during the summer vacations when they went to meet his family he would be still studying till late at night and on the return she would get an earful of the studious Harsh comparison and would be seething with anger .

“यह लड़का मेरी जान ले कर रहेगा किसी दिन... हे भग्गू (short for Bhagwaan – God) बचाओ..”

Only Harsh knew the reasons why he loved her. He couldn’t put it on paper, but he could feel it inside his heart. He persisted, like his life depended on her. He would roam outside her college, her locality, sometimes even outside her office too. She had said yes after all these years seeing his persuasion and his compassion for she knew that she wouldn’t get another life partner like him. They had been together for years now. The issues were of a very different kind now. Although being the most pampered girl in her family, Varsha wanted to go for an arranged marriage as per her parents wishes but now that she was in love, she was in a dilemma.

“You want to do an arranged marriage and you love me. Would it be okay if my parents came to your house with a formal proposal?”, he had asked her this question she had replied in the affirmative but she didn’t knew how to break this news to her own parents that she wanted to marry a boy of her choice. He in the meantime had told his mother about her and she was more than happy for the match. 

Varsha was getting increasingly tensed. She knew that there were talks of matches being looked for her but she couldn’t go and say to parents. One day she decided to talk. Expecting a full on drama from her parents (snatch her phone, keep her supervision for some days types), she did a master reset of her phone so that nothing can be traced between her and him and had also informed him not to call her until she called from her end. Now it was wait and watch. She loved him and couldn’t afford to lose him. As a stroke of luck, her mother came into the room just then-

“ Varsha…”

“ हाँ”

“Beta there is a boy coming tomorrow to see you”.

“Maa I don’t want to get married to just anybody, please understand that”

Her mother thought that maybe she was nervous due to the thought of marriage and she tried her best to soothe her with various reasons.

“Varsha, the boy will come tomorrow. Your papa and I have said yes to their visit”.

“माँ आप एक बार हर्ष से बात कर लो”

This line made her catch something. She got angry and asked

“ सही से बता क्या बात करूँ हर्ष से ? तुम्हारा कुछ scene है क्या ”

This was the moment she was dreading. With tears in her eyes she told her everything. Her mother just stormed out of the room. Varsha cried her heart out and she did not knew if she had done any damage. She went to sleep all crying. In the morning, she was up with attitude from her side saying to her parents that they were just not ready to listen to her. Her parents were busy with preparations for the guests so they didn’t say anythinh. The doorbell rang and she could hear the guests and her parents talking animatedly. 

“Varsha, come beta” , called her father . 

She had her eyes lowered and she did not want to look up.

“ Hello Varsha beta, how are you??”, The boy’s mother asked her. With a big whirlpool of thoughts going on in her mind, no sound was registering uptill now when she looked up and then all she did was to go and hug her dad in a very tight embrace.

There she was standing in front of Harsh’s family and the smiles on the faces of all made her breakdown with happiness. She didn’t knew how to react, she had no clue. He was not there, probably he too must have felt the same. He came later and his smile told her that everybody knew. She was expecting something different.

Neither of them knew that after he had talked to his mother about Varsha days back, his parents had talked to her parents, bringing a proper match from their side. Last night`s dialogue was a way for a mother to know the feelings of her daughter. Both the parents thought that they both were good friends and so would happily live together, little did they knew that they both loved each other even before they told them. 

Today, as Varsha sits beneath the mandap dressed as a bride ready to take the rituals, Harsh holds her hand and whispers in her ears, “ I told you I wont let you ever go love. You are the only thing I could have ever asked for and you would be the most loved one in my life and I intend to fulfill that promise. Trust me”…

Book titles used here – 

Hold my hand by Durjoy datta- This is one of the most beautiful book to come from Durjoy and the best one after his Deb and Avantika trilogy. This books presents friendship and love in a most innocent way.

Trust me by Rajashree – The first light chick flick by a female writer which uses Hinglish words in a story, it surely brings love forward in a most funny and a storyline in a ticklish way.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.