Lucknow: The first Bada Mangal of the Jyestha month saw long queues at temples across the city on Tuesday as devotees gathered from early morning to offer prayers and seek blessings of Lord Hanuman.Across the city, bhandaras were organised where devotees were served traditional puri-sabzi and boondi, while several stalls also offered a wide variety of food, including fruit chaat, mango shake, bun makhhan, samosa, chai, ice cream, cold drinks and chip packets.At the New Hanumanji temple in Aliganj, devotees waited under umbrellas for darshan with a special bhandara of guddhanya, a mixture of wheat flour and jaggery.At the Lete Hue Hanumanji temple, the deity was decorated with six varieties of flowers, followed by a grand maha aarti and distribution of prasad to devotees.At Lucknow University, the department of chemistry organised a bhandara near the metro station, where devotees and passers-by were served traditional puri-sabzi and boondi prasad.At Parivartan Chowk, stalls served mango shake, fruit chaat and cold drinks as people queued in large numbers.At IT College, fruit chaat stalls saw a steady rush, with visitors collecting plates and waiting in queues for refreshments.At Aliganj, lassi, cold drinks, puri-sabzi and boondi were also served. Anil Verma, a visitor in Aliganj, stated that he visits the bhandara every year and finds the variety of food makes the experience more special.“We try to ensure that no one leaves without eating and service continues without any break through the day,” said Jai Sharma, a bhandara organiser at IT College. At Kursi Road, a large bhandara offered chaat, chhole kulche, pani ke batashe, ice cream and cold drinks. At Nishatganj, bun makhhan, samosa and chai were served to visitors throughout the day. In Indira Nagar, dhokla, samosa, puri-sabzi and tea were served. At Gomtinagar, fruit chaat, chhole kulche and lassi drew steady crowds.
