India is a country where life can be joyous, colourful, sturdy, festive, stressful, but never dull. It is one of those countries that you can love and hate things at the same time. Many cities here can qualify to be “the happiest city in India”, where one can experience its landscapes, adventures, gateways, history, sports, food and so on. But if I have to choose a city to live in to make my life happy, I will select Lucknow. It is the city with nazakat and andaaz that makes the place really good to explore and live in. It is the most peaceful place to live in India if you don’t like noise and traffic.
Lucknow – The City of Historic Nawabs and Kebabs
Lucknow is one of the six fastest-growing cities of India. It is famous for its British era buildings, literature, performing arts, history, architecture, lip-smacking food and tehzeeb. Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh and is undoubtedly worth visiting. The city, nestled on the bank of the river Gomti, always welcomes tourists with a heartwarming note of “Muskuraiye kyunki aap Lucknow mein hai”. Lucknow is highly regarded as the city to relax where people and places show you a lot of hospitality. The city is not too crowded, although there are several markets spread out wherever you go. Lucknow is well connected by railways to other towns, wherein during the journey, you can
order food on train using the RailRestro mobile app.
It is an e-catering mobile app that serves you restaurant-style
food in train at your allotted seat. Lucknow also has its very own Metro Rail that saves a lot of time and effort of people. Historically, the city was the capital of Awadh, and the region's artistic beauty blends the glittering past and the modern city together. Mughal Gateway, which was popularly known as Rumi Darwaza, was built in the capital centre that divides Lucknow into old Lucknow and the new Lucknow. While new Lucknow is one of the most planned cities of Asia, on the other hand, old Lucknow is ancient, has bustling, vibrant streets, and is more crowded.
Cuisines of Lucknow
Lucknow is a paradise for a food lover, where you can savour the tasty blend of the Mughlai and Indian cooking, which is popularly known as Awadhi cuisine. It has its distinct individuality served with a royal touch. In the early days, the food cooked for kings required an extra eye for details and presentation. The cooking style called Dum style means food is cooked at low flame and the style carries on till today. Some of the famous dishes of Lucknow that will tempt you with their taste are chicken biryani, kormas, zarda, Nahari-kulchas, sheermal warqi-kulchas. The city can also be a destination for vegetarians that offer nihari kulche, gulabi chai, lassi, chole bhature, dahi-bade, etc.
Places Which You Can Visit in the City of the Nawabs
The city offers a number of architectural wonders, historical wonders, and monuments for its tourist and travellers.
Bara Imambara
Bara Imambara is one of the most significant buildings in Lucknow and a symbol of Awadhi culture and architecture. The Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula built this historical monument in 1784, which was an architectural wonder of that era. It is also known by the name Bhulbhulaiya or the Labyrinth.
British Residency
The British Residency also called the Residency Complex, is regarded as a national monument. It reminds us of the Colonial past, and it was an important site of the Revolt of 1857. After the battle, the ruins have been preserved till date with the bullet grazed walls.
Dr B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Park
Ambedkar modern memorial is a public park that is spread across an area of 107 acres. The monument is dedicated to Dr Ambedkar. The construction is the memorial's key attraction, which is made up of red sandstone brought from Rajasthan.
Rumi Darwaja
One of the popular and spectacular gateways of Lucknow is famously known as Rumi Darwaza or Turkish Gate. Nawab Asaf-u-Daula built the monument in 1784, which is about 60 feet high.
For me, Lucknow will always be the happiest city in India, as it has everything that leaves a smile on the faces of visitors and captivates their soul.