Lucknow: Encyclopedia II - Lucknow - Culture

Lucknow - 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)'You-First' culture so 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 a common language -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. It is an extremely laidback city in some respects. Anyone visiting the city via the ugly and distant airport will form a very negative first impression of the city. However, the beautiful architecture and the yellow facade of the railway station, along with its milling crowds of travellers, hawkers and the general public can put a smile on anyone's face.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Culture", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki