The Lucknow in me.
- Cretalyst
- Jan 4
- 6 min read
If you have any friend from Lucknow then they might be ranting all the time about Lucknow's food, and if you are from Lucknow then you are that friend and so am I. However, this blog is not about food, but being a true Lucknowi I can't ignore it either, just one paragraph, please bear with me.
When I was a kid, I was told that in heaven or Swarg whatever food you wish it appears before you, it is a sort of a popular description of heaven in Hinduism, and so it remained the most memorable definition for me throughout, however it is only when I left Lucknow, I realized that I was in heaven all that time. I am not exaggerating—Lucknow was recently named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. Now apart from food there are many other aspects which I observed in my city which are not in the common discussions as of now, maybe it matters more to me but I thought it might be interesting to share.
Cretalyst emerges
I started Cretalyst as a side hustle during lockdown when I was pursuing my bachelor’s and now I am full time in this, however whenever I stumble upon this question about what Cretalyst is or how it is different from any other design practice I only have one thing in my mind which is that I am Cretalyst, it is me and it is not only about the professional side of my discipline but more of my own identity with a spirit of autonomy and freedom. Don't want to sound that self-centered but I think everyone has an identity, a uniqueness and it not any explainable or static definition but a living breathing set of behaviors forged by set of unique experiences, the current world has been moving toward individualism for a while and we are privileged to be part of it. Now moving away from all this self-talk, what is the actual set of interactions that Cretalyst or I offer and what it has to do with Lucknow?
We are in no rush
When I shifted to Delhi for my studies, I definitely found it great for my area of work which is art and design when compared to Lucknow, and I guess I am not alone since the Delhi sees so much influx, which makes is always in a rush. However, I personally found it very difficult to cope with it. I tend to settle down, plan things in advance and always happen to be someone who has time. All this time I thought there is some issue with me or maybe I am not working hard as everyone else were running all the time and after introspecting time and time again I finally began to understand the reason.
The Chowk area is a part of Old Lucknow, seems happening on the outside but retains rest and a certain satisfaction in the interior of the localities. There is a certain Tarawat or “Freshness in rest”. My locality comprises of Sarafa and Chikankari Market, and almost all the owners live nearby so they just come and sit in their shops, the most popular delicacies are at a walking distance of 5-10 minutes, so there is no need to run. Being raised in such an environment I was too resistant to fall into any toxic work culture. A simple life, sitting at your shop, having good food nearby, and a warmth in the neighborhood has always been the definition of “Normal” to me and to this day I see my studio just like that. A cute little space where people can come have a good time and where I can work in my comfort. However, this Itminaan should not be confused with laziness, the deadlines are still sacred, the Itminaan is in the meditative aspect of the Kaarigari or the Craft, in which rush may spoil the quality of the result. This inner peace leads to the overall nature of kindness and generosity in Lucknowites, this is where the Tehzeeb comes from. Therefore Cretalyst is not a studio that represents Lucknow, It is a studio formed by Lucknow’s temperament.
The Temples, The School & The Identity
I have always been fascinated with cultural maximalism and Old Lucknow is full of inspiration. Many different cultures ruled from Delhi but many of them found peace and rest in Awadh. The art and architecture here is said to be a hybrid one, depicting not only the Indo-Persian but also includes that of the British, a very few critics have called it a lack of originality or that of imitation but what I truly believe is that the core essence of Lucknow has always been of acceptance and fusion to form a dynamic cultural language that is against the notions of rigidity, and this is not some research but a lived experience, and a supporting nice example would be the old temples of my locality. My Tai ji (Aunt) used to take me to those temples when I was about 4-5 year old and after she left I never visited those temples again, because one, it was nothing new to me back then and second, I was also not much into religion, but recently I visited Lucknow and my foremost plan was to revisit those temples as all the faded childhood memories running in my head became too loud to ignore, so I felt that my design practice will surely benefit from this revisit.
There are many temples, small and big in every nearby locality and some of them are even 400 years old, and in one such temple I saw the fish motif above the gates which is prominently seen on Nawabi Structures and can also be seen in the present-day seal of the government of Uttar Pradesh. I don’t know the exact reason of it being there on a Hindu temple but I can sense that it points to a culture of not only mere tolerance and secularism but a celebrated fusion, as the architectural language here is translated beyond religion. Another more popular example is the Temple in Aliganj area in Lucknow built by the Nawabs. I am not going into the full stories as there are many.
There is one temple I had very faded but deep memories of, the Charo Dham Mandir; it was made so that the people who couldn’t afford or were unable to complete the Char Dham pilgrimage can go and worship there. The temple has its versions of all four Dhams, Ravan’s court, the Dev Lok and the Yam Lok.
To a four-year kid these were quite vivid and interesting so much so as those memories remained roaming around in my dreams in one form or another. Therefore, to find myself I had to revisit them chasing my hazy memories.
Now comes the Urdu aspect, I studied in a Muslim convent school till 5th standard as it was quite near my home, and I can proudly say that apart from my home, that school was the place where I was taught how manners and morals are something which should never be compromised with. My teachers there used to say that I have a quite good handwriting in Urdu however I couldn’t continue it after that school as I did not have much of a language learning caliber. I saw the English-Hindi-Urdu titling throughout my life there in movie posters and now recently inside the Lucknow metro as well. Therefore, the Cretalyst Identity is not just made to fall into this current trend of rising cultural maximalism in Indian brand designing scene but more as a result of a lived experience which I deeply cherish and miss when am not in Lucknow.
The Takeaway
Lucknow is much more than the cuisine; and I have not included anything about several other monuments of Lucknow as I believe they are fairly known, however I feel that I should list a few of the sites here if anyone is wondering, apart from the Bhool Bhulaiya Labyrinth of the Bada Imambara complex, the Roomi Gate, the Clock Tower, and other popular monuments, one should definitely visit La Martiniere College, which is probably the best preserved colonial architecture of Lucknow and one should also visit the Art & Craft College of Lucknow which is also older than a century and do have Khaste, Bun-Makkhan and chai in the canteen (the habit can't go).
Lucknow surely has problems of its own like any other city but if you are perceptive enough its beauty will nourish your soul. I might not settle here due to my profession but as Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji said to a kind and generous village,
“May you scatter and spread everywhere”
People from Lucknow are certainly making their mark wherever they are going, I hope the city retains its culture amidst the development and modernity, I wish the kindness among people to flourish more and let’s see what my city brings more in the future.
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