SOUVENIR COMMITTEE - Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany

Training Programme on “PALYNOLOGY IN FOSSIL FUEL EXPLORATION”
[ September 10-17, 2012 ]
Luck now, that you are in Lucknow
Lucknow has, for long, held a reputation of being a city of culture and etiquette. A hub of
Awadhi culture, Lucknow is also known for its colorful and really generous Nawabs, stories
about whom range from hilarious and cynical to those of astonishing generosity! But postindependence,
Lucknow has also blossomed into a science city.
The Nawab dynasty started in 1722 with Burhan-ul-Malik. Lucknow derives its present name from
its old name Lakshmanpur. During the Moughal period, Lucknow flourished as a center of arts. The
kings of fine taste promoted art, dance and crafts to the best possible extent. Some of the paintings
done during that period are still preserved in the Hussainabad Art Gallery on the bank of river
Gomti. Lucknow is known as the place of origin and even now as the most reputed school of the
exquisite dance form Kathak- a form that prospered in the courts of the Nawabs. The embroidery
work, done manually, called chikan, is also known the world over. Mouth-watering delicacies are
another attraction to the visitors.
Lucknow still boasts of the ruins of old grand Residency with all its shell-marks. The Residency
fell to the Britishers after a fierce battle and the Nawab was ultimately captured in 1856. He could
not escape to safety; there was no servant who'd help him put on his shoes, or so the story goes.
This could be truth or a figment of imagination but what is recorded is that the same Nawab had
also got a women's army ready to fight the Britishers! The memorial in the memory of historical
Kakori case (1925) is there on Hardoi road and so are the old guns in the premises of Residency
and La Martinier Boys College. The Less Lucky was the Tare Wali Kothi, an astronomical
observatory that lost all its equipments to the turmoil in 1857. It now houses the State Bank of
India. Some of the lost glory of Lucknow may be seen preserved in its museum adjacent to the zoo,
while places like Charbagh have nothing left with semblance of any garden. The huge parks like
Ambedkar Park, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Park and Lohia park have indeed added to the Charm of the
city. Many road-crossings are marked by statues of historical and literary figures-some well known
and some not so well known.
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