[samsag12]

Thanks samsag12.
A pleasant surprise to find someone from the City of Nawabs. Would be nice to meet up. Your no. of posts and frequency of posting shows that you must be a regular on this forum, but never saw. may be your interests are in other threads of this forum.[/quote]
Yeah me too.Feels good to see a Lucknowite on this forum Actually, i am active on this forum daily from morning till night with few breaks. Have inclination towards the Fiat related threads so you must have not noticed.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by LongDrive lover

You a newbie! and me educating you! oh no! actually, its the other way round. . Anyway, story unfolding soon.

Oh!!! Yes; I haven't even crossed south borders - trust me.

Originally Posted by LongDrive lover

"Sir, if you'd kindly permit, two can go in almost same expenditure by road"

Boy!!! which is the company, who's the boss, well I can even start wiping computers with colin for this

The scenics are very appealing really.

[LongDrive lover]

Originally Posted by aargee

Boy!!! which is the company, who's the boss, well I can even start wiping computers with colin for this

Hehehe.. this really made me laugh.
Thanks..more coming soon.

[ampere]

Nice very nice LDL ! Good boss you have!

Lukhnow reminds of the time when some of my college friends went to Lukhnow. Its actually amazing how the speaking styles (dialogue delivery ) changes within states itself. Agra is open to all kinds of UP hindi. Lukhnow I guess is more polished and people give more respect.
(Nawabi style I think. LDL can correct me)

This guys catches an auto-wallah and said:
"Pehelwaan **** jagah chaloge kya?" (I dont know which place was that)

The auto guy actually got offended and said:
"Pehle aap apnee bhasha sudhariye" (Improve your language first)

This was the year 1997. Never realized, such things do exist and can happen!

Sorry for the OT, but could not help saying it out, since the contex is Lukhnow. Not sure LDL if things are still the same!

I have done the stretches of Delhi/Aligarh/Tundla/Agra etc, but did not go beyond that on the GT road.

@MX6: The no-help clauses are all carrots in disguise.

[LongDrive lover]

Originally Posted by ampere

Nice very nice LDL ! Good boss you have!
Lukhnow reminds of the time when some of my college friends went to Lukhnow. Its actually amazing how the speaking styles (dialogue delivery ) changes within states itself. Agra is open to all kinds of UP hindi. Lukhnow I guess is more polished and people give more respect.
(Nawabi style I think. LDL can correct me)
Never realized, such things do exist and can happen!
I have done the stretches of Delhi/Aligarh/Tundla/Agra etc, but did not go beyond that on the GT road.

Yes, you are correct. Lucknow has that nawabi dialogue delivery, i.e. saying it with 'adab'.People who belong to this central UP part do talk in that polished manner. In the example you quoted where rickshawala got irritated, in Lucknow style, it should have been said like this, 'bhaiiya/dada, jara so and so place chaliyega kya?..

Actually, this central UP's 'awadhi' dialect is the most sophisticated one. Rest of the parts of UP (west, east, bundelkhand, etc.) have their own dialects. Western UP's tone is the most rough (called the 'Khadi boli'). Eastern UP's bhojpuri/ metheli even a normal Lucknowite can't understand. Similarly, even among western UP's diff districts, it differs: Agra, Mathura, Aligarh region is similar, where as, Meerut, Ghaziabad and further towards Haryana-Delhi border side, it is the roughest. And, I basically belong to this last region.

I think I gave enough gyan, so stopping here. Will be back with the story soon.

[samsag12]

Good to see some posts discussing Lakhnavi Tehzeeb. Yes as rightly said by Mr. LDL respect is given to even the rickshaw puller as we don't discriminate our behaviour among lower or middle class people. We are what we are.

Sorry for going

[ampere]

I used to stay around the Agra/Mathura/Aligarh region for almost a decade!
And the language used to be rough. But it had its own fun.

Enough of OT. Story please!

[LongDrive lover]

Originally Posted by ampere

I used to stay around the Agra/Mathura/Aligarh region for almost a decade! And the language used to be rough. But it had its own fun.
Enough of OT. Story please!

Nice to know that you have stayed in western UP for a decade. Will be nice to meet you at BLR.
Story will start in evening, just busy with work.

[MX6]

In case you are going through Pune, it would be nice for you to meet up with me as well.
But I've not stayed in western UP. I've roamed around many parts of UP though!

[tortoiseNhare]

I visited Lucknow in the summer of 2002. My classmate in Delhi University (now an officer in NABARD) hails from the city and I was his guest for a few days. Really loved the city: especially the Dusseri mangoes, Tunde Miya's kebabs and Prakash's kulfis.

[LongDrive lover]

Originally Posted by MX6

In case you are going through Pune, it would be nice for you to meet up with me as well.
But I've not stayed in western UP. I've roamed around many parts of UP though!

Sure MX6, quite possible. Its enough a case to meet that you stay in India and love driving/roaming by road. That western UP thing came just bec. of perspective the discussion was going on with ampere.

[LongDrive lover]

Originally Posted by tortoiseNhare

I visited Lucknow in the summer of 2002. My classmate in Delhi University (now an officer in NABARD) hails from the city and I was his guest for a few days. Really loved the city: especially the Dusseri mangoes, Tunde Miya's kebabs and Prakash's kulfis.

Thanks. Good to know that. The city is still less modernized compared to what you would expect capital of such a large state to be. But, now it seems to be passing through a transition phase where traditional glory is getting blended with modernity.

We still going OT!

[LongDrive lover]

Finally the Story resumes..

DAY 1:

We have decided to start at 5.30 am and reach Indore, if possible. Let me mention, HVK sir has said about this stretch, "very aggressive, but possible with some zestful driving". I have decided to take Etawa-Gwaliar route to NH 3 at Shivpuri. The idea was to avoid incomplete Kanpur-Jhansi route (NH 25, E-W Corridor). It meant we'll be on Kanpur-Agra (NH2 GQ) till Etawa, then take diversion to Gwalior. It was 100 kms longer. It proved a bad ploy as Etawa-Gwalior was longer then we thought and also in bad shape.

With Kids, could start only at 6.30. On way found that daughter was feeling irritated, on close look discovered that due to an early rising then her routine she got cold & was feeling mild fewer. We carry all required preliminary medicines that any of us may routinely require. So gave her something, which helped. With few brief pits stops, continued with reduced speed due to bad roads, and finally stopped for breakfast past Bhind on road side in-front of a petrol bunk. Our friend has got BF packed from home.

Roads improved after Gwalior, NH3 was in good shape with rare potholes, speed increased. Stopped for lunch-cum afternoon tea in Shivpuri, and started from there at 3.30pm. We were running late and Indore seemed a very remote possibility, even, reaching Beora (180 kms before Indore) looked difficult! To make matter worse faced a 20 minutes typical NH3 jam (long ques of trucks) between Shivpuri-Guna. When we reached Guna, it was already evening (around 5 pm). Stopped at a nice open petrol bunk before the city, filled tank, used toilets, face washing, etc. This break freshened up all of us. From here on I geared up a bit to make up some lost time. We sat the target to reach Beora (MPTDC Motel). We reached Beora around 7.20pm. From here straight road goes to Bhopal and a right turn goes to Indore. I knew if we stop here, tomorrow is going to be very tough.

I persuaded my co-passengers that if they could hold-on for another 2.5 hrs, we'll reach Indore by 10 certainly and that'll be a great relief for next day. Daughter was okay. My friend at Indore have booked rooms in a Hotel on Khandwa road (approachable from Indore bypass). But, the Hotel was known for him, so the booking was not paid, means either we reach or not, it was not an issue with the hotel. All agreed, and we kept moving. After Beora, roads were smooth like newly laid on, no potholes, very less traffic. It all helped in making good speed. Around 8.30 we stopped for a 15 mints tea break, which I needed (am a tea freak). I also called up Hotel owner and informed that we'd be late and reach around 10.30. We reached Indore by pass at 10.15 pm, took sometime to locate the Hotel and finally reached Hotel at 10.50pm. The day's trip ado read 889 kms. (barring 270 kms, all was on traditional 2 lane highway with truck traffic). As expected, we all were tired, ate whatever hotel could give in dinner and it was bed time. My daughter was also happy, her tiredness goes as soon as we reach destination, bec. she feels free after coming out of vehicle!

[ampere]

@LDL,

Sorry for the OT. Felt like penning this down. As Dickens said. Those were the best of times and those were the worst of times!


I had quite a time in Western UP Aligarh/Agra! Language was amazing and so was the land; Amazingly fertile, as I was mentioning in one of Laluk's Travelogues.

In fact I have never seen red carrots and Dark Green (Bottle Green) Water Melons on the Ganges waterlands but in these places only. Six months a year (near the winter periods) we never used to go to the market for vegetables. It was all at home !

For the rest six I had an Avon cycle (with one break) which I used to drive to the nearby market (so called "Haat" ) and lug around all the stuff, that I was supposed to buy.

Got my share of fun swimming in the mighty Ganges, much to my mom's discomfort.

The only problem was horrible roads to connect to Delhi.
Badaun, Dibai, Shikarpur and Bulandshahr were places with one of the most most worst road stretches, with tar actually available at some places.
Now I don't know how these places are.

The UPSRTC buses (at Aligarh) would wait to get filled. It is a rule, that no one should take the conductor's seat. If he was courteous enough the bus would come to the bus-stand, else it would start from the anywhere. It was up to us, to find, where the bus was?

Once the bus was full, the driver would drive out of the town and stop somewhere outside. He would not drive further till every one in the overflowing bus would have purchased a ticket. In all that crowd, tickets would be purchased and passed on through the standing crowd.

Traveling from Agra towards Moradabad was a nightmare. The last bus used to start by 3 in the noon. If one missed it, the only chance was to take a passenger train from Agra starting at 5PM. Which used cover a grand distance of 140 Km till Rajghat (on the Ganges) overnight reaching at 4 in the morning!

Such were my travels and travails! What a place! What place!

[MX6]

[quote=ampere;1868217Traveling from Agra towards Moradabad was a nightmare. The last bus used to start by 3 in the noon. If one missed it, the only chance was to take a passenger train from Agra starting at 5PM. Which used cover a grand distance of 140 Km till Rajghat (on the Ganges) overnight reaching at 4 in the morning!
[/quote]

Dude, consider this!
I once travelled jhansi to kanpur by some train (way back in 1996).
There were close to 300 people in the sleeper class coach, with 4 people lying on the middle berth, which had reservation on my name. I sat next to the wash basin (couldn't proceed beyond that in to the coach) right in between two armed cops. There was a handcuffed theif crouching below.
The cops kept nodding away, barely able to keep the eyes open. There was a station called Urai midway. One passenger comes to the lavatory, finds it too smelly and dirty, promptly turns and pees in the wash basin. The cops dozed off and the hand-cuffed theif deports with the mirror and a bulb (what will he do with a 12V bulb) from the toilet. Some one raises an alarm. Cops chase him. Slap him. Bring him back.
Before he's caught, he smashes the mirror and the bulb on the platform.
Once they reverted to earlier position, one of the cop snored blissfully, with his rifle slipping and falling/ pointing to my head. Another chatted with the theif in a friendly manner, borrowed a beedi from the theif and smoked to glory.
I'm sitting amidst all this, the smell of pee, the smoke of beedi, the slipping rifle, armed-cops and a street smart theif. And yes, not to forget 300 odd passengers sleeping blissfully in the bitter cold.

I love UP! There's a degree of innocence attatched to the place!