Lucknow Residency

A memorial to several people who died here.

The building near it is the church that was destroyed.....should be quite eerie..but I saw young couples visiting the place..sitting in the shelter of tombstones.

Probably feels a little creepy after daylight hours.

The remains of the Residency in Lucknow

The Residency was the seat of the British rulers in Lucknow (the Nawab was merely a figure head by then)when the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 (according to the British)or the first war for independence (according to the Indians) took place.


I will not elaborate on the reasons why this happened...but it is worth looking up for those who don't know. During the course of this war the Lucknow Residency was under siege by many of the Indian troops who were on the outside. Cannon balls were fired from large cannons and one can see the shots in many of the walls. During the siege the residency was completely destroyed. Many lives were lost during this time and my understanding is that although a few died of wounds sustained during the siege, large numbers died from disease and lack of proper care.

On my last day in Lucknow my cousin Inderjit took me to the Residency grounds. The grounds are well maintained and it is interesting to see the remains of the buildings...almost nothing is left standing, The museum on the grounds has some interesting paintings and sketches and a model of what the Residency looked like in its glory days.

Relaxing after another interview

On returning to Lucknow, to visit my cousins, I did one more interview with a couple we could not get earlier. It was a hot afternoon when I returned...and peeked into one of the bedrooms to see who was up...as it was siesta time. Aunty Barri was there....so I lay down on the bed and we chatted for a while....I think Kavita came in and took this photo. I remember how nice and cool it felt to be indoors. Although Aunty Gypsie had sent me in the car with air-conditioning...just a few minutes in the heat of 37C was enough to exhaust me. These are the kinds of memories
I will carry and share with my children.

Fashion Show in Lucknow - fabulous show

Amrita was sent an invitation to a fashion show by the Ministry of Textiles and some of us went along. It was really well done. Beautiful models, wonderful clothing and we had front row seats (thanks to Amrita's influence). The man from the ministry must have written his speech in a hurry. I have never known the word "beautiful" to be so generously used in a 5 minute speech...."beautiful venue" "beautiful event"...he went on and on. Amrita and I were finding it hard to control ourselves. After this "beautiful event"...and it truly was well done, we went out to a meal at a Lucknow Dhabba (like a roadside stand)...the food was great and much enjoyed by us.

However,little did we realize that our attendance at the fashion show would lead to our photos coming out in the Hidustan Times the next day. I mean the man with the "beautiful" speech missed out on having his photo and we made it. Nice souvenir to bring back from Lucknow.


Infront of the Bara Dari (the old palace of the Nawab...Mita, Rohina and myself...unfortunately, my battery in the camera was running low and we could only manage a few photos.










Notice that man in the glasses?



...Amrita and I had decided he should be considered a "letch"....he really had an odd way of checking out the models. Also,it looked like the entire male staff of the Govt. offices of Ministry of Textiles was there in large numbers....

Pearls of Wisdom: Among the swans there is always a wolf on the prowl!

Lucknow Club and garden scenes

Some more scenes of the lovely garden.







Kavita and I took to walking barefoot on the dew in the mornings (it's supposed to be beneficial) and then taking a short walk in the lane running alongside their home.

















The bird bath....a hawk came here regularly in the mornings to get his sip of water.












At the Lucknow Club. A very nice club with all kinds of ameneties. We enjoyed some drinks with delicious food with friends of the Dass'. I was laughing because this gentleman was trying to talk Punjabi (he said his mother was from there)but not doing too well.

Yup! let's make sure we have the right beer...and we want that really chilled. I believe it was the Kingfisher label that was being ordered.

peacocks, Pasha and pretty good companions

my travelling companions enroute to Lucknow. The lady in blue was an entertaining individual with a lot of stories to tell and a great deal of interest in everyone. The lady in red was a great listener.

Oliver (named by Amrita as in "please ma'am may I have some more?") the Peacock.

Aunty Gypsie with Pasha..who seems to be wondering if the flower is edible.
A lovely view of the dahlias...the cook is standing in the doorway talking to the gardner.


Pearls of Wisdom: A long journey becomes short when traveled with the right companions, whether human or otherwise.

Photos: people and places of interest

The first place Zarina and I went for an interview. This is the building of the well established Christian school...where we had a talk with the Principal.





A beautiful specimen of a Dahlia in the Dass garden

Front view of the Dass home in Lucknow
View of a village from the train enroute to Lucknow
Stella and Sarwar's youngest grand-daughter




Pearls of wisdom: Absorb all you can..for you may not pass this way again.