Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, and the most populous state of India. The expected population of Lucknow in 2009 is more than 50 Lakhs. Lucknow is a second largest city after Delhi within the states of north, central and eastern India. According to Government of India, the Lucknow district is one of the ninety Minority Concentrated Districts in India, shown by 2001 census data on population, socio-economic indicators and basic amenities indicators.
Located in what was historically known as the Awadh region, Lucknow has always been a multicultural city. Courtly manners, beautiful gardens, poetry, music, and fine cuisine patronized by the Persian-loving Shahi Nawab of the city are well known amongst Indians and students of South Asian culture and history. Lucknow is popularly known as the “The City of Nawabs”. It is also known as the “Golden City of the East” and “The Constantinople of India”.
Today, Lucknow is a vibrant city that is witnessing an economic boom and is among the top ten fastest growing metro cities of India and is the second largest city of east, north & central India after Delhi. Straddling across the river Gomti, modern Lucknow is a bustling metropolis. Historically, it was a centre of Hindi and Urdu literature.
Lucknow's rise to growth and fame begins with its elevation as capital of Awadh by Nawab Asaf-Ud-Dowlah. He was a great philanthropist and gave Lucknow a unique and enduring legacy. The architectural contributions of these Awadh rulers include several imposing monuments. Of the monuments standing today, the Bara Imambara, the Chhota Imambara, and the Roomi Darwaza are notable examples. One of the more lasting contributions by the Nawabs is the synergetic composite culture that has come to be known as the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb.
The city played an important role in both the First War of Independence and the modern Indian freedom struggle. Whether it was the Lucknow Pact of 1916 or the Khilafat Movement, it brought the citizens on a united platform against the British rule. In the Khilafat Movement Maulana Abdul Bari of Firangi Mahal, Lucknow actively participated and cooperated with Mahatama Gandhi and Maulana Mohammad Ali.
Lucknow is not only a major market & trading city in Northern India, but is also an emerging hub for producers of goods and services. Being the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, the Government departments and the public sector undertakings are the principal employers of the salaried middle class. Liberalization has created many more opportunities in the business and service sector and self-employed professionals are burgeoning in the city.
Lucknow also provides a good catchments area for the recruitment of quality personnel by information technology companies for the BPO.
The other business-promoting institutions that have a presence in Lucknow are the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII).
Among the bigger manufacturing units, Lucknow has Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Tata Motors, Eveready Industries and Scooters India Limited. Processing industries include milk production, steel-rolling units and LPG bottling.
The city's small-scale and medium-scale industrial units are located in the industrial enclaves of Chinhat, Aishbagh, Talkatora and Amousi. Lucknow is famous for its small scale industries that are based on unique styles of embroidery, namely, Chikan and Lakhnawi Zardozi, both of which are significant foreign exchange earners. Chikan has caught the fancy of fashion designers in Bollywood and abroad.
Real estate is one of the many booming sectors of the economy. There are several malls, residential complexes and business complexes throughout the city. Real estate giants like Parshvanath, DLF, Omaxe, Sahara, Unitech, Ansal and API are here.
Lucknow is one of the few Indian cities that follows vertical outgrowth plan like the major metros of India. The city boasts handsome skylines in Gomti Nagar, Hazrat Ganj and Kapoorthala. Few of the prominent under-construction buildings are Sahara Hospital which will have 30 floors followed by Metro City, Parshvanath Planet and Omaxe Heights, all 25 floors. The city boasts a high property expansion rate. It is expected that city will have a $2.5 billion organized real estate by 2010, highest in North India except the National Capital Region (NCR).
Lucknow, with its excellent educational, commercial, banking and legal infrastructure, is witnessing rapid growth in information technology, banking, retailing, construction and other service sectors. The Private coaching institutions are reputed for preparing aspirants of competitive exams and services, which happen to be another business that is flourishing in Lucknow.
Currently, biotechnology and information technology are the two focus areas to promote economic development in and around the city. The Ministry of Science and Technology is setting up a biotech park in the city. Lucknow is also one of the selected cities for the Smart City project of STPI, under which IT is being used to promote economic development.
Leading IT companies like TCS and IBM are also operating in Lucknow. The Ministry of Communications & Information Technology has set up Software Technology Parks of India in 2001 which is playing an important role to promote IT/ITES Units in the region. Public and private Insurance companies, as well as leading cellular phone companies are present in the city as well.
Lucknow is a hub of education and research with many premier institutions. Schools and higher educational institutions in Lucknow are administered either by the Directorate of Education, the UP government, or private organizations.
Lucknow boasts of national importance as a prominent place for Scientific Research, especially in the emerging field of Modern Biosciences. Four institutions affiliated to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research are located here: the National Botanic Research Institute, the Central Drug Research Institute, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research and Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.
Lucknawis are also experiencing the new waves of shopping malls and multiplex culture in India. Lucknow is bravely struggling to retain its old world charm while at the same time acquiring a modern lifestyle. Regarded as one of the finest cities of India, Lucknow represents a culture that combines emotional warmth, a high degree of sophistication, courtesy, and a love for gracious living. The Pehle-Aap (after you) culture, popularized as a tagline for the society of Lucknow, is waning. But a small part of Lucknow's society still possesses such etiquette. This sublime cultural richness famous as Lakhnawi tehzeeb blends the cultures of two communities living side by side for centuries, sharing similar interests and speaking a common language.
Many of the cultural traits and customs peculiar to Lucknow have become living legends today. The credit for this goes to the secular and synergetic traditions of the Nawabs of Awadh, who took a keen interest in every walk of life, and encouraged the traditions to attain a rare degree of sophistication.
Both Hindi and Urdu are spoken in Lucknow, but Urdu has been the lingua franca of the city for centuries. Under the rule of Nawabs, Urdu flourished and turned into one of the most refined languages. Hindu and Muslim poets took Urdu poetry to dizzying heights and established the Lakhnavi form of the language.
In recent years the use of Urdu has reduced significantly. Day-to-day transactions in the city are typically performed in Hindi or English. Nevertheless, Lucknawis are still known for their polite and polished way of speaking which is noticed by visitors to this city.
The city has a range of fine restaurants catering to all tastes and budgets. The Awadh region has its own distinct Nawabi style cuisine, with various kinds of biryanis, kebabs and breads. Makkhan Malai, 'Malai Ki Gilori' of Ram Asrey (an oldest shop of pure ghee sweets, established in 1805) Chowk , the famous Tundey Kebabs, named after the one-armed chef Haji Murad Ali, and 'Kakori kebabs' are very popular with food lovers.
Like the various other art forms, the culinary art of Lucknow was also raised to a fine art under royal patronage. A favourite past time of the nobility of Awadh was perfecting the art of cooking. The bawarchis and rakabdars of Awadh, by their expertise of blending spices, achieved a high degree of finesse in cooking and presentation of food that took culinary art to the highest realms. This gave birth to the Dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today. The bawarchis of Awadh transformed the traditional dastarkhan with elaborate dishes like kababs, kormas, kaliya, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, roomali rotis and warqi parathas.
The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also is the ingredients used in creating such a variety. Lucknow is also proud of its Kababs, the Kakori Kababs, Galawat ke Kababs, Shamie Kababs, Boti Kababs, Patili-ke-Kababs, Ghutwa Kababs and Seekh Kababs are among the known variety of other sumptuous dishes of Lucknow that are simply a gourmet's delight. After a delicious dinner, one can have Paan at any of the innumerable Paan vendors.
The Chaat in Lucknow is one of the best in the country. There are quite a few places serving outstanding chaat in old Lucknow Chowk.
Lucknow has a warm subtropical climate with cool, dry winters from December to February and dry, hot summers from April to June. The rainy season is from mid-June to mid-September, when Lucknow gets an average rainfall of 1010 mm (40 in) mostly from the south-west monsoon winds. In winter the maximum temperature is around 21 degrees Celsius and the minimum is in the 3 to 4 degrees Celsius range. Fog is quite common from late December to late January. Summers can be quite hot with temperatures rising to the 40 to 45 degree Celsius range, the average highs being in the high 30's.
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