SOUVENIR COMMITTEE - Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany

Training Programme on “PALYNOLOGY IN FOSSIL FUEL EXPLORATION”
[ September 10-17, 2012 ]
Time has taken its toll and things have changed, for sure, to some extent. The once famous sweet
Awadhi, immortalized by Goswami Tulsi Das, is gradually giving way to what may be best
termed Hinglish- an effect of the dominating outsiders influx, natural to a capital. The Old-timers
bemoan the loss of the old relaxed life style. Few can relate to the 'Do Baanke' of Bhagvati
Charan Verma now, or to the 'Shatranj ke Khilari’ to whom loss of the king on their chessboard
meant much more than the fall of king in the real life ! Things have changed indeed. You don't
commonly see anymore those one-horse-carriages, ekkahs, on roads though there are some still
around in the old city. If you go to see the architectural wonder Imambara, which houses the famous
Bhool-Bhullaiah and a huge pillar-less hall, you are very likely to encounter some ekkah-walah
ready to take you around. The city is dotted with numerous shopping arcades, including several
multiplexes, all over the city. But you could still see those weekly haats in many places in the old
as well as the new city. In addition to a Museum, and a Zoo, Lucknow has a crocodile-breeding
farm (Kukrail), a planetarium, a Regional Science City and also several sport stadiums, one of
which is named after the famous Olympian Hockey captain KD Singh Babu and another one after
Guru Govind Singh. There are several auditoriums, including the Scientific Convention Center,
Sangit Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Kendra and Lal Baradari that keep the cultural and intellectual
pulse beating.
But the post-independence change is most visible in the form of range and number of the
scientific institutions built up over the past 60 years and of educational centers which have carved
niche for themselves internationally. Lucknow boasts of 90 year old Lucknow University, Gautam
Buddha Technical University, BR Ambedakar University (Central) and nearly a century old KG
Medical University (now known as CSMMU). In addition, there are 2 deemed universities
including one for Music, named after the legendary musicologist Bhatkhande. Add to these
the Yunani and Ayurvedic Colleges and a number of private technical (engineering, medical,
catering and management), universities and colleges, and lucknow emerges as an education center
of great repute even before we mention the prestigious IIM-Lucknow.
Lucknow truly takes the cake when it comes to counting the purely R & D institutions. In
addition to BSIP (DST), it has four CSIR institutions of world repute including Central Drug
Research Institute (established in 1951), which is housed in the historical picturesque Chhatter
manzil on the banks of Gomti. Close to it is another CSIR institution Indian Institute of
Toxicology Research (1965). The National Botanical Research Institute (under CSIR since 1953),
for long known as Botanical Garden, is a leading institution for plant science research. Central
Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, founded in 1959, is another jewel in city's crown.
The Sanjay Gandhi PG Institute for Medical Sciences is an advanced center for medical care and
research. The Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Central Institute for Subtropical
Horticulture, National Bureau of Fish Genetic Research and National Research Laboratory for
Conservation of Cultural Property are important research institutions of Lucknow. There are
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