watering cuisines, and nawabi etiquettes. As Mughal power in Delhi declined, Lucknow flourished and artisans and artists, poets and musicians flocked to the city. In fact, Lucknow could be termed the cultural centre of northern India where people are so polite that anyone would feel at home. The classic example of pehle aap (after you) shows how etiquette or tehzeeb runs in the blood of the people of Lucknow. But the city is very much able in accommodating the modernity, keeping the tradition and culture alive altogether.

The city of Lucknow thrives in monuments which speak of the eras gone by. Though much of these architectural monuments are on the decline, some of the best known structures of Lucknow are the Imambaras, and the Bhulbhulaiyan. It also continues to be home to the fine chikan embroidery executed with fine skill on fabrics, sarees and kurtas.

For a deeper insight to the city, explore the lanes of Aminabad and Chowk, for this is where the real Lucknow lies, in noisy, narrow, crowded streets, with vendors spilling on to the pavement with their merchandise. Here you will find the smells of the halwai making steaming hot jalebis and serving them with hot milk, the zardozi worker bent over at workshop, skillfully creating a masterpiece before your very eyes; the warq maker beating silver to the thinness of a fraction of millimeters between deerskin leaves; and droves of skull-capped men heeding to the call of the muezzin, heading towards the nearest mosque to say their prayers.

Avadhi cuisine—yet another indulgence of the pleasure loving Nawabs. Connoisseurs claim that Avadhi cuisine is not food; rather, it is a sensual experience. In the old days it was common to have a goat fed for weeks on saffron to flavor the meat, before cooking it all-night over a slow-fire. The city kitchens offer a wide range of kebabs - some that melt in the mouth, others flavored with up to 43 spices, and yet others who’s recipes are more closely guarded than the family jewels. There is a huge range of traditional sweets, garnished with dry fruit and decorated with pure silver foil beaten to a fine layer.