India, July 24 -- The theme for the 16th edition of the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival this year was "Lucknow ke Gali-Kooche". While a city is known by its grand monuments in the popular imagination, life takes place in the narrow lanes or galiyan which witness a whole array of diverse syncretic practices that preserve sociocultural memories. Held from 31 January to 4 February at Safed Baradari and Salempur Estate in Qaiserbagh, "MSLF 2025", as its website states, encourages "visitors to look beyond postcard-perfect landmarks and instead focus on the lived experiences of communities, the layers of history embedded in architecture, and the social complexities within these intimate spaces."

After the inauguration, Sabika Abbas regaled...