lucknow

Muskaraiye ki aap lucknow mein hain


Coming back to my town and the place where my heart is.
Oudh...we all know it as Lucknow.
The city can be broadly divided in two parts,old lucknow and new one.People who have been to bhopal will find these 2 cities quite similar.
As soon as you reach lucknow railway station(charbagh),you are at one of the most elgantly designed stations of british raj.Seen up from the sky,the station looks like a chess board.
The old city has wonderful places like imambara,bhulbhulliya(awesome architecture..a maze),roomi darwaza and others.Residency,a place which was a mute witness to the first war of independence in 1857 still can take u in that era.(sadly now its the love birds who are more interested in going there).
You will find loads of chikan karigars.The work is loved all over the world.And its all done by hand.The next time you wear a kurta/suit/saree of chikan work,just try to wonder,all this work has been done by a lady sitting in cramped premises.
There is a unique flavour to the lucknowites(people who have been living there for 1-2 generations).Something carefreee and relaxed,which also reflects in the city.If you stop someone on the road,and ask for directions,dont wonder if he comes with you and drops u there!!!
The best thing about Lucknow???? Fooooooooooood...
I have been almost all over india(except jaipur,which i have heard is great for cuisine too),and let me say,these are the things which are out of this world:
1 Biryani- even the roadside thela waala makes better biryani than top names in mumbai.For comparison,mumbaites go rave about a place called "bade miyan" near churchgate,i have been there,and that place sucks!!!
reason biryani so good is,its cooked in desi ghee,the rice melts in ur mouth,and the rice is cooked with meat,the shorba seeps in...
2 Kebabs-minced kebabs with parathe..wowie!!
3 raja ki thandai...try it with bhaang..and then its al jai jai shiv shanker
4 chaat(pani puri,matar,aloo tikki etc)-have it in lucknow,noone makes it better
5 paan

moreover,lucknow is a great place to shop.for people who love that real shopping feeling.the mall culture has killed the art of shopping.
Aminabad,a market spread across almost 5 kms.you can get anything here,from jewellery to 100 varieties of saunf.bargain to your hearts content.I still remember my mom taking me along when i was a kiddo and the incentive being the awesome milk badam at one of the shops!!!
there is no place like Hazratgang.The centre of the city.In terms of shops,offices and the crowd.Have spent hours walking on this 2km stretch of road there with my friends ,fooling around and bird watching in my school