The holy taste of May Tuesdays in Lucknow

The holy taste of May Tuesdays in Lucknow Bada Mangal, when the streets become temples, where kindness is served warm, and devotion flows with every bowl.” Do you think being in the sticky, sweltering heat of Lucknow in May-June sounds like a tragic miscalculation? Ordinarily, yes. But if you happen to find yourself here on a Tuesday in the Hindu month of Jyeshtha, you’ve stumbled into a heartwarming loophole in summer’s tyranny. No, this is certainly not a weather miracle, and Tuesdays aren’t any cooler. But what you get is a sight as rare as a breeze in the noon sun: crowds standing patiently (mostly otherwise though) in front of small shamiyanas, the flat tents, for a free-meal and buttermilk or sherbet (flavoured, non-dairy, sweet drink). T he generosity is not like a flash sale; the whole affair goes on for hours. That is the celebration of Bada/Budhwa Mangal (Big/Old Tuesday), a festival unique to Lucknow and celebrated on the Tuesdays falling in this month. This y...