It was the 25th of
December 2015, the Christmas day & the city was beautifully decorated with
lights of different colours, balloons, candles, streamers.
People flocked the streets
wearing Santa Caps and clothes of red and white colour.
There was joy in the air.
I have been living in this city
for the last two years and have grown to like it. The simplicity of the people
of this area has always attracted me.
During Christmas, Hazratganj
area of Lucknow witnesses a huge crowd. The Cathedral Church located here is
wonderfully decorated and you can hear Christmas carols being played all
day long.
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| Cathedral Church, Hazratganj |
After seeking divine blessings,
we moved out of the church. We had planned to have a wonderful dinner at
Dastarkhwan, but to our utter disappointment, when we reached there, it was
crowded beyond imagination. We could not wait for long as it was already very
late.
With heavy hearts, we decided
to go back home and have our dinner at home itself. As we turned to leave, we
chanced to come across a little shop with no customers. It had a clumsy, old
look which was the obvious reason why there were no customers there. The sight
of roasted chicken displayed, brought water in our mouths. Nonetheless the look
of the shop was not attractive enough to allure us to sit and have something
there.
Reluctantly, we asked the
shopkeeper the rate for roasted chicken and the rate was comparatively less
from the other shops around, but still at the back of our hearts we were not
convinced to have it doubting whether the things would be hygienic enough. We
finally decided to leave without having anything, but the shopkeeper kept
insisting that we should give his dishes a try, saying that no other shop in
that area would be able to beat the taste of his dishes.
Finally we decided to try it
out and sat down at the shop. The owner busily started preparing roasted chicken
for us.
After few minutes, he served us
the delicious dish and to our utter surprise, it was really awesome & so
home like. He won our hearts immediately.
After having the chicken, my
husband wanted to have a piece of the plum cake that I had brought for him. I
cut a big slice and gave it to him.
The shopkeeper had been
watching us. Coming closer, he asked whether it was the birthday of any of us.
We told him that it was just a Christmas Cake.
Teasingly, I asked him, “Why do
you ask us bhaiya? Do you serve complimentary dishes to the ones who have their
birthdays?”
He said, “No no, it doesn’t
matter if its your birthday or not, I will serve you chicken biryani as
complimentary.”
Saying so, he offered us fresh,
hot chicken biryani and we were more than happy to savour it.
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| Our Christmas Tree shaped Plum Cake |
While leaving as we were paying
the bill, he refused to accept the payment for the biryani. We kept insisting,
but he was reluctant. He kept saying that it was complimentary for his sister. His
calling me sister won my heart & my husband’s as well. We, kind of felt a
bond with this stranger. We offered him a piece of plum cake and he was
delighted. We left with beautiful feelings in our hearts.
Not every man has the heart to
offer so much love to strangers and within few minutes, this shopkeeper became a
part of our hearts. He was a magi for us, whom we met on the eve of Christmas.
Ever
since then, we have been visiting his shop at least twice a week and he has
been treating us with his delicious dishes at fifty percent discount, and never
hesitates before throwing in something complimentary from his side, saying that
we were his family. Of course his never ending tales about his family are a
real entertainment which we soulfully listen to while devouring the delicacies
offered by our very own Shadaab Bhai.
