Lucknow streets become happy on Sunday

Hundreds of people thronged the Chatori Gali in Gomti Nagar on Sunday morning for the second Happy Streets of the month. The Times of India initiative proved to be major crowd puller early in the morning with a plethora of activities lined up. City folk too left no stone unturned in kick-starting their morning on a refreshing note.
SK Mintu and Anushka Singh (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

A girl skating at the event and Tripti and Aditi at the event (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

The Mellow Mind Project band (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

Blown away by the happiness: Shreyasvi Bajpai (L) & Riya (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

Jaya Tiwari reading Lucknow Times (BCCL/ Vishnu Jaiswal)

People started arriving at the Chatori Gali much before the event began.With vehicles lined up on both sides of the road, people were seen rushing to the area to participate in activities like football, volleyball and skating.
The morning began with a Power Yoga session conducted by by Mohit Singh and an Aerobics session happening on the at the other end of the road. Not just the elders, even the kids joined in the yoga and the Zumba sessions.
Later, it was time for the people to let loose with Ayaaz, who held a special combine work-out session which was a hit among all age groups. Working out on songs like 'Tamanche Pe Disco', 'Shimmy Shimmy', 'Bom Diggy Digg'y, 'Jumma Chumma', and more, the crowd cheered at each step.
With more people joining in the sessions with each passing minute, soon the entire street was full of people working out enthusiastically and learning new steps. Prakhar Jain, a class XI student, who attended Happy Streets for the first time, was pleasantly surprised to see so many activities being conducted on the streets. "After reading about last week’s Happy Streets in The Times of India, I decided to attend it this time. But I didn’t expect such a huge number of people waking up and coming in the morning," he said, adding, "We usually have to pay for such kind of activities like Aerobics and Zumba. But here at Happy Streets, one gets everything, that too by the experts, and for free. That’s amazing!"
Young skaters of La Martiniere College with their coach Naresh Sagar (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

Carry on dancing: Instructors showing the right Zumba moves to participants at Happy Streets (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

Doggy's day out on Sunday morning (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

Getting a kick out of Karate: Amit Bharti (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

Amaan Khan performs stunt on the cycle while a youngster writes his thoughts on the Wall of Fame put up at Happy Streets (BCCL/ Vishnu Jaiswal)

A volleyball match in progress (BCCL/ Vishnu Jaiswal)

Fun on wheels: Aditya Jain and Suvidhi Jain’s leap of faith (BCCL/ Vishnu Jaiswal)

The skaters from La Martiniere College and LMGC grabbed everyone’s attention with their skating skills. “It is a nice Sunday morning outing where all the students get to showcase their skills in front of the huge audience and earn appreciation which motivates them a lot,” said Naresh Sagar, the skating coach.
And while part of the crowd was busy with their dance moves, a group of martial arts enthusiasts were seen practicing kicks and punches. “We taught self-defense this Sunday where a lot of girls participated,” said Mahesh Singh, the martial arts coach.
To make the morning more happening and energetic, R.Js Tripti and Aditi of Radio Mirchi, had several games planned for the crowd. The duo organized a swapping game where boys had to dance like girls and girls had to do the tapori dance. Prachi Jain and Netu Singh showcased their dancing skills by doing the naagin dance which became the highlight of the activity and was enjoyed by all.
Jaya Tiwari, founder of Meri Zindagii band was also present to promote the cause of staying fit. “Getting up early in the morning is something we don’t want to do, but when you are lured by something like Happy Streets, then who doesn’t want to get up and be a part of such an activity,” said Jaya.
The cycling corner too had a lot of takers as people had to wait their turn to hire the bikes to go ridingin the early morning breeze. Urvashi Ahuja, who came along with her family, was spotted cycling along with her son, while her elder sisters were spotted enjoying Zumba. “I was really happy to see a large number of city folk gathered on the road having fun. Visiting Happy Streets can make anyone feel energetic with the various activities organised for people of all age groups,” said Urvashi.
The three-hour event culminated with a rock-band performance by the Mellow Mind Project band, who performed songs of The Beatles like Oh Darling, I’ll Survive, Rising Sun, among others, and impressed the audience with their music.
— Adnaan Rizvi and Prachi Arya