With India gaining independence in 1947, barely a teenager Om Prakash Sharma and his elder brother left their native place Aligarh to find a greener pasture in Lucknow - the capital city of Uttar Pradesh then United Provinces. 

Lost their parents when they were quite young, Sharma brothers did minimal jobs for survival in their adopted city and finally in 1958, Om Prakash came up with a tea stall at a corner shop at Lalbagh, adjoining Hazratganj -- the downtown of Lucknow. 

Over the years, 'Sharma Ji Tea Stall' has become an important landmark and is a must visit for the tourists visiting the city of Nawabs. 

In 2009, at the age of 78, Om Prakash Sharma passed away and since then his two sons - Gopal and Deepak - are carrying forward his legacy. The other two sons are into corporate world and working in Delhi. 

"Our father started the tea stall in 1958 and in no time it became a most sought after tea joint of the city. Because of this tea stall our father was able to provide us quality education and a decent lifestyle," says elder son Gopal Sharma. "Now our third generation is into this business."

From former prime ministers late Atal Bihari Vajpai and late Chaudhary Charan Singh to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is a Member of Parliament from Lucknow and also remained a chief minister of the state in 2000, to former CMs late Kalyan Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav, everyone had tasted the hospitality of Sharma Ji Tea Stall. 

From morning 7:30 am (in summers it open at 7am) till it get closed at 7:30pm, at any given time you will see public waiting for their turn to enjoy the piping hot tea with choices of bun maska, bun samosa or samosa. 

"Our father had started this tea stall with two employees and now we have a team of 25," says younger son Deepak. 

In 1958, a cup of tea at Sharma ji Tea Stall cost 25 paise and today it's Rs 20, but one think that didn't change since day one, is the taste. 

To be continued...