497km (308 miles) SE of Delhi
Situated on the banks of the Gomti River, Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, has a relatively calm disposition, its urbane gentility and relative absence of beggars and touts a welcome change from the heady assault that so marks the experience in more popular North Indian cities. Lucknavis are in fact given to a peculiar strain of pomposity that seems entirely out of place in the 21st century -- locals call out to you in pukka high-falutin' English "Good evening" at three in the afternoon, and a firm "How are you, gentleman?" is popular among locals keen to demonstrate their eloquent English, no matter how limited it really is.
Lucknow owes its sense of pride and heritage to the cultured Avadh Nawabs: A minor dynasty founded by the Persian aristocrat Nawab Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk, the Nawabs ruled the independent state of Avadh (or Oudh, as the British called it), which grew in splendor -- so much so that by the middle of the 18th century (coinciding with the decline of Delhi), Lucknow was India's largest and most prosperous city, filled with grandiose palaces, gilded cupolas, and pleasure gardens. It was to retain this reputation for almost a century -- in 1850 a correspondent for The Times of London favorably compared Lucknow with Rome, Athens, and Constantinople. While the Nawabs were known as men of refinement and taste, fond of poetry and courtly dance, they had some decadent predilections, highlighted by the last Nawab's weakness for muta, temporary marriages that often lasted a single night.
When the British summarily unseated the last Nawab and annexed Avadh in 1856, it helped spark the notorious Mutiny, known in India as the First War of Independence, during which 2,000 people were killed on the grounds of Lucknow's Residency. Much of Lucknow's former glory was further dissipated when, after Partition in 1947, the city's cultured elite emigrated en masse to Pakistan. Now the capital of a state plagued with corruption, Lucknow continues to draw the spotlight for the various political intrigues played out here by the state government.
