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Revision as of 14:29, 18 April 2007 by Writtenonsand (talk | contribs) (made links)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For the village in Canada, see Lucknow, Ontario. Capital| Lucknow Lucknow | |
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| capital | |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Dinesh Sharma |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,541,101 |
Lucknow pronunciation (Hindi: लखनऊ, Urdu: لكهنو, Lakhnaū) is the capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It had a population of 2,541,101 in 2006. Lucknow is also the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division. Located in what was historically known as Awadh, Lucknow has always been a multicultural city. Courtly manners, beautiful gardens, qawwalis, chikan work embroidery, and the contributions of Urdu poets patronized by Lucknow nawabs are well known among South Asians and students of South Asian culture and history.
Origin of name
In ancient times, Lucknow was part of the Kosala kingdom (modern Ayodhya) ruled by the Suryavanshi (Arkawanshi) dynasty also called as Ikshvaku dynasty to which Lord Rama belonged. It is believed that he gave the territory comprising of modern Lucknow to his devoted brother Lakshman. Therefore, the original name of Lucknow was Lakshmanpur, popularly known as Lakhanpur or Lachmanpur.
Other stories mention that Lucknow was named after a very influential person called 'Lakhan Ahir' who was chief artisan of the fort 'Qila Lakhan'. The name 'Qila Lakhan' later became Lucknow.
History
Lucknow's medieval history begins with its elevation to a capital city under the Nawabs of Awadh. The architectural contributions of the Awadh rulers include numerous mosques and palaces; many paintings of these are now maintained at the Art Gallery. Of the monuments standing today, the Bara Imambara, the Chhota Imambara, and the Roomi Darwaza are notable examples, although neglect by the authorities has put them in danger of turning into ruins.
The province of Awadh (anglicized to Oudh) was annexed by the British East India Company in 1856, and placed under the control of a chief commissioner. In the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as First War of Indian Independence and the Indian Mutiny), the garrison based at the Residency in Lucknow was besieged by rebel forces. The famous Siege of Lucknow was relieved first by forces under the command of Sir Henry Havelock and Sir James Outram, followed by a stronger force under Sir Colin Campbell. Today, the ruins of the Residency, and the picturesque Shaheed Smarak offer reminiscences of Lucknow's role in the events.
During the siege of the Residency, it was the students of La Martiniere College that went ahead to defend the Residency. For the valour that they displayed, La Martiniere College at Lucknow was awarded the battle honours of the British Empire, thus making it the first college to receive such honors.
In 1902, Lucknow was included in the territory of the new United Provinces of Agra and Oudh; it became the provincial capital in 1920 when the seat of government was moved from Allahabad. Upon Indian independence in 1947, Lucknow became the capital of the new Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Geography
Situated in the heart of Uttar Pradesh, 500 km south-east of New Delhi, Lucknow is surrounded on the eastern side by Barabanki District, on the western side by Unnao District, on the southern side by Raebareli District and on the northern side by the Sitapur and Hardoi districts. The Gomti River flows through the city, dividing it into the trans-gomti and cis-gomti regions. Some of the tributaries of this river are the Kukrail, Loni, and Beta. The Sai River flows from the south of the city, flows eastwards, and enters the Raebareli District.
Lucknow has a warm subtropical climate with a cool dry winter from December to February and a dry, hot summer from April to June. The temperature extremes vary from about 48 °C (118.4 °F) in the summer to 2 °C (35.6 °F) in the winter. Fog is common in winter while hot dry winds called Loo blow during the summer. It receives about 101 cm of annual rainfall mostly from the South-West monsoon winds between July and September. Mean monthly temperatures January: 14.7 °C June: 32.9 °C
Lucknow city is located in the seismic zone III with majority of the city construction not being earthquake resistant.
Economy
Biotechnology and IT are the two focus areas to promote economic development in and around the city. Ministry of Science and Technology (India) is setting up a Biotech park in the city. Lucknow is one of the selected cities of the Smart City project of STPI, where IT is being used to promote economic development.Chikan, sometimes anglicised to 'chicken' is an embroidery handicraft which has traditionally been associated with Lucknow, and 'Lakhnawi Zardozi'. IT is being introduced to the Chikan industry to increase productivity with the help of World Bank funded projects. Chikan and Zardozi industry are the major small scale industries in the city. During the period of the nawabs, kite making reached high level of artistry, and is still a major small-scale industry. Sugarcane plantations and sugar industries are major industries in Uttar Pradesh; this attracted Mohan Meakin Brewery to set up a brewery based on molasses in the city. The city also boast several two-wheeler manufacturing units like BAJAJ, HONDA etc. Scooters India has a factory too on Lucknow-Kanpur National Highway. IT Giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has an office in Lucknow too. Another IT Conglomerate Wipro Technologies is also planning to set up office in Lucknow.
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Government and politics
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the MP for the Lucknow constituency. There are four major political parties in Lucknow: Bharatiya Janta Party, Indian National Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, and Samajwadi Party. Apart from the political theatre, student politics is also very prominent in the city. One can see budding politicians or leaders in the Lucknow University Campus.
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Transport
The major local mode of transport is Bus, Cycle Rickshaw, Auto rickshaw, Memu Train, Maxi Cab-Tata Sumo and Vikram-Tempo. The fares are very low. Majority of them run on CNG. Buses in the city are run by Lucknow Mahanagar Parivahan Sewa a division of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC).
Transport can also be arranged through any of the local travel agents.
Lucknow is accessible from the rest of India through air, rail and road. Lucknow has two major Railway Stations. The railway station is at Charbagh.One terminal at charbagh belongs to (Northern Railway) and the second is the one run by North Eastern Railway. Lucknow is a Junction. You can board trains from these terminals for every state of India. Apart from these two terminals, Lucknow have 7 more railway stations viz. Dilkhusa, Gomatinagar, Badshahnagar, Aishbagh, Lucknow City, Daliganj and Mohibullapur. The first 3 stations caters to broad guage only whereas the others have meter guage as well. All the stations are withing city limits and are well connected with each other via road networks and public road transport. The Lucknow-Kanpur track (72 Kms.) is electrified. Its electrification was done when Lucknow was Prime Minister's Constituency (Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister). It is directly connected with New Delhi, Patna, Calcutta, Mumbai, Varanasi, Allahabad, Dehradun and other major cities by Amausi airport, located around 20 km outside the city. Lucknow's Amausi airport is an international airport and is the 13 online station for Air India. Some international destinations include Dubai, Jeddah and Sharjah. Soon, flights to London and Bangkok are planned to be started. The take-offs of flights give a very dynamic and enthusiastic scene by viewing it from the adjoining Kanpur Road. There are two inter-state / intra-state bus terminals. One is very near and opposite to the Charbagh Railway Station and ther other is at Qaiserbagh.
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Demographics
Both Hindi and Urdu are spoken in Lucknow,with Hindi being the most prominent language and the most vastly spoken one.It is the lingua franca.Under the rule of the Nawabs, Urdu flourished and turned into a refined language. Hindu and Muslim poets like Aatish, Nasikh, Daya Shankar Naseem, Musahafi, Insha, Safi Lakhnavi and the famous Meer Taqi Meer took Urdu poetry to newer heights.
The two great poets, Mir Anis and Mir Dabeer, became legendary exponents of a unique genre of elegiacal poetry called 'Marsia' centred on Husayn bin Ali's supreme sacrifice in the battle of Karbala which is commemorated during the annual observance of Muharram. The revolutionary Ram Prasad Bismil, who was hanged by the British at Kakori near Lucknow, was largely influenced by poetry and wrote verses under the pseudonym of "Bismil". The towns like Kakori, Daryabad, Rudauli and Malihabad produced innumerable poets and literateurs of Urdu like Mohsin Kakorvi, Majaz Lakhnavi, Josh Malihabadi, and Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi.
However, in recent years, the use of Urdu has become significantly reduced; many of the residents of Lucknow are no longer able to read the rich literary tradition or historical artifacts found in the museums and archives. Day-to-day transactions in the city are typically performed in Hindi or English.
In and around the city
The architectural delights in Lucknow include the Vidhan Sabha (State Parliament) and the main railway station, Charbagh Railway Station, with its yellow domes and pillars. Two of the oldest schools in the world are also situated in Lucknow: La Martiniere, founded by the bequest of the immensely successful colonial entrepreneur Claude Martin (1735-1800) and St. Francis', founded by Father Norbert.
Locations of interest in and around Lucknow include Kukrail (a picnic spot and crocodile sanctuary), Malihabad (home of the famed Dashahri mangoes), Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Mirzapur.
Aminabad, a quaint bazaar quite like Delhi's Chandni Chowk, is situated in the heart of the city and is a large shopping centre, catering to a wide variety of consumers. The Hazratganj area is the upmarket shopping area with colonial style buildings that also has a number of government and administrative buildings. A popular past-time among the locals is strolling across the Hazratganj market, sometimes shopping along with is known as 'Ganjing'. Two huge malls, Sahara Ganj and Fun Republic are up and running with around 7000 visitors daily. Other malls are East End Mall, The Magnum, Citi Centre, Singapore Mall and five proposed malls. Lucknow has multiplexes like Wave, PVR Saharagunj and Fun Cinemas giving its citizens world class movie watching experience. Though multiplexes are operating in Lucknow but still some good old movie halls are Novelty (Lalbagh), Sahu (HazratGanj) and Pratibha (Vidhan Sabha). These halls still draw considerable of crowd. Some other important shopping centres are Alambagh, Kapoorthala, Bhootnath and Chowk Old Lucknow. Some of the historical buildings once part of the beauty of this city are now destroyed. Among them the most prominent one was the enchanting "Chand Mehal".
The Asafi Imambara (popularly called Bada Imambara), the Chhota Imambara, Dilkusha Garden, The Residency, Shah Najaf, La Martiniere, Ram Krishan Math (Nirala Nagar) are some famous monuments at Lucknow. The famous Bhul Bhulaiya (meaning labyrinth) is part of the famous Asafi Imambara. The Other places of interest are Clock Tower, Chattar Manzil,State Museum/zoo, Shaheed Smarak & Dilkusha. Lucknow is the city of gardens; some of the famous parks are Ambedkar Park, Buddha Park and Amrpali Water Kingdom. One can also visit Cathedral School (located in Hazrat Ganj), which houses the Asia's largest Cathedral - an Architectural Masterpiece.
Lucknow is also famous for culinary delights, including Makkhan Malai of Chowk (flavoured whipped cream), Tundey Kababs and Kakori Kababs. A number of make-shift Mughlai Restaurants are there adjacent to Tulsi (an erstwhile picture theatre, near District Magistrate's Residence, Hazratganj) serving local non-vegetarian specialties (Dal Mein Kaala, Dastarkhwan, Naushijaan to name a few). Lucknow is now being called 'Mall Capital of Uttar Pradesh' with more number of malls than UP-NCR by 2009.
Localities & Municipality
Lucknow City is governed by Lucknow Municipal Corporation. The major colonies & settlements are Hazratganj, Aminabad, Aliganj, Indira Nagar, Gomti nagar, Malviya Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Transport Nagar, Vikas Nagar and Jankipuram. Indiranagar was once called Asia's Largest Colony.
Culture
Lucknow, the 'Golden City of the East', is struggling to retain the old world charm that still exists in the old quarters of the city, close to the Chowk area. 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, popularised as a tagline for the society of Lucknow, is waning; but there still remain people who possess those beautiful qualities. This sublime cultural richness famous as 'Lakhnawi Tehzeeb' blends the cultures of two communities living side by side for centuries, sharing similar interests, speaking their common languages - Hindi and Urdu.
Many of the cultural traits and customs peculiar to Lucknow have become living legends today. The credit for this goes to the Nawabs of Awadh, who took keen interest in every walk of life and encouraged them to attain a rare degree of perfection.
Old Lucknow's Chowk area is the location where the maximum number of Chikan factories and shops can be found. Apart from clothing, the Chowk area is also famous for its mouth watering sweets like 'Malai Gilauri', 'Badam Halwa' and 'Ras-Malai', as well as the famed 'Chatpati chaat'. Kathak, the classical dance form took shape here. Additionally it is also famous for its perfumes and silver-work.
Lucknow is also city of eminent Ghazal Singer Begum Akhtar who was resident of Havelock Road, near Vidhan Sabha. She was the pioneer in Ghazal singing who took this aspect of music to amazing heights. 'Ae Mohabbat Tere anjaam pe rona aaya' is still a music rendition of all times.
Lucknow gave music legends like Naushad Ali, Talat Mehmood and Anup Jalota to the entertainment industry. It was also the birthplace of British pop legend Sir Cliff Richard.
Several famous Urdu-Hindi Bollywood movies used Lucknow as their backdrop such as Shashi Kapoor's Junoon, Muzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan, Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Mere Mehboob, Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Main Meri Patni aur Woh, Gadar-Ek Prem Katha, Saher and many more.
Education
Schools and educational institutions in Lucknow are either run by the UP government or by private organisations. Private schools in Lucknow typically use English, Hindi or Urdu as the medium of instruction and are affiliated to either the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) or the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE).
Lucknow is home to the reputed University of Lucknow. The University has a reputation of excellence in India and abroad. It is a pioneer in graduate study in many fields, especially anthropology, history, law, mathematics, etc in India. From its humble roots of Canning College to the modern centre of excellence, the history of the institution is a saga in itself.
Lucknow is also home to several CSIR India research institutes, medical colleges and management and engineering institutes. Lucknow also houses one of the 6 branches of the world renowned Indian Institute of Management and a renowned engineering college Institute Of Engineering And Technology, Azad Institute of Engineering & Technology (Affiliated to Uttar Pradesh Technical University). This city have third largest fleet of Degree colleges in India.India's premier fashon designing institute NIFT is also setting up its branch here seeing its age old mastership in textiles.
See also: List of educational institutes in LucknowNIKIDA
NIKIDA is a world class state-of-art township being developed in the industrial Lucknow-Kanpur Corridor.It will have a large international airport, resorts, express highways, mass rapid transit system (MRTS) golf courses etc..This city would be a counter magnet to metropolitan cities of India like Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras etc. which are now becoming overcrowded. It is proposed to name the city as NIKIDA (New Integrated Kanpur Industrial Development Authority). It is proposed that NIKIDA shall be established in an area of 1,50,000 Acres of land. In the first phase, an area of 60,000 acres are proposed to be acquired. The land is thinly populated and not much difficulty is envisaged in acquiring this land.The total cost of project of the first phase is estimated to be about Rs. 108000 million approximately. It is proposed that most of facilities, as mentioned above, shall be privatised.It is approved by The Central Government and will begin by 2009. UPSIDC invites proposals from investors for promoting the city NIKIDA and various infrastructure projects as mentioned above which include international airport, power plant, express ways and bridges. MRTS, hotels and resorts, urban infrastructure, housing etc. Private investments shall also be welcomed in industrial parks, institutes of learning, hospitals and industrial & business complexes
Media
Several daily newspapers in Hindi, Urdu and English are in circulation in the city. Television transmission in the city is available since 1975. In 1982 colour transmission was started during the Asiad. FM radio transmission started in Lucknow in 2003, and the city has 4 radio stations. - 90.4 MHz CMS, 100.7 MHz AIR, 91.1 MHz Radio City, 105.6 MHz Gyan Vani.
Several local newspapers in English, Hindi and Urdu are printed in the city. Times of India has a special Lucknow Times supplement.Hindustan Times and The Pioneer are quite popular too.In Hindi, dailies like Dainik Jagran, Hindustan and Rashtriya Sahara are much read.
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Sports
Several sport venues are present in Lucknow. K. D. Singh Babu Stadium has organised many international and national cricket matches. The Lucknow Golf Club is also one of the famous golf courses in India. Lucknow sports hostel has produced a lot of national level cricketers recently that include Suresh Raina and R. P. Singh.It also have an Olympis standard aqua sports centre and a worls class tennis court in Lohia bussiness complex.It will also get a lakh seater stadium by 2012 due to increasing needs of sports authority of Uttar Pradesh.
References
- "World Gazette". Retrieved 2006-09-29.
- Misra, Amaresh (2004). Lucknow: Fire of Grace. Rupa & Co. ISBN 81-291-0485-7.
- "India Meteorological Department". Retrieved 2006-09-19.
- "UNDP report" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-09-29.
- "Biotech city Lucknow". Retrieved 2006-10-23.
- "World Bank Report". Retrieved 2006-10-02.
- "Lucknow crafts". Retrieved 2006-10-23.
- "Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation". Retrieved 2006-09-20.
- "National Council of Promotion of Urdu Language". Retrieved 2006-09-29.
- "Lucknow Doordarshan". Retrieved 2006-09-25.
- "FM Radio Stations". Retrieved 2006-10-27.
External links
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