Lucknow

A congregation hall of Shia Muslims.

Rumi Darwaza.

Andrew Robinson:...The city is known as the 'Paris of the East' and the 'Babylon of India' a century before: the ornate mosque Bara Imambara with its notorious Bhulbhuliya maze, the Dilkusha garden, and the decorative palaces of the kings and Nawabs of Oudh.

Satyajit Ray:I think there were two aspects to Wajid Ali Shah's character, one which you could admire and one which you couldn't. At one point I just could not feel any sympathy for this stupid character....The fact that he was a great patron of music that was one redeeming feature about this King.

Shradha Sharma:Lucknow is known for many things besides its ‘tehzeeb’ (etiquette). Its history, politics, food, clothes, music, culture and language are traits of a city steeped in rich traditions. Regarding the lack of startup eco-system in Lucknow, the legendary capital of Uttar Pradesh, even after having an IIM in town and couple of IITs nearby, after mulling over it for some time, I took upon this responsibility to build an eco-system here...

Lucknow is the capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow, as a multicultural city, has flourished as a cultural and artistic hub of North India in the 18th and 19th centuries and as a seat of power of Nawabs. Today it continues as an important centre of government, education, commerce, aerospace,finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, culture, tourism, music and poetry.

Quotes

• The year before last a Hindoo could not have dared to build a temple in Lucknow. All this is changed [with the advent of British rule].
  • Sir H. Lawrence, in 1857, quoted in "Annals Of The Indian Rebellion" Chick 1974 also in Jain, M. (2010). Parallel pathways: Essays on Hindu-Muslim relations, 1707-1857

• The atmosphere of courtly refinement that was so characteristic of Lucknow included the greatest north Indian classical musician of modern times,Ustad Allauddin Khan (the father of the virtuoso AIi Akbar Khan and the guru of Ravi Shankar). The city is known as the 'Paris of the East' and the 'Babylon of India' a century before: the ornate mosque Bara Imambara with its notorious Bhulbhuliya maze, the Dilkusha garden, and the decorative palaces of the kings and Nawabs of Oudh.
  • Andrew Robinson, in Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players: History Today Volume: 57 Issue: 7 2007, History Today

• I think there were two aspects to Wajid Ali Shah's character, one which you could admire and one which you couldn't. At one point I just could not feel any sympathy for this stupid character. And unless I feel some sympathy I cannot make a film. But then finally, after long months of study, of the Nawabs of Lucknow, and of everything, I saw the King as an artist, a composer who made some contributions to the form of singing that developed in Lucknow. The fact that he was a great patron of music that was one redeeming feature about this King.
  • Satyajit Ray, in "Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players: History Today Volume: 57 Issue: 7 2007"

• In the 1970s, more than a century after the eclipse of the nawabi power at Lucknow, the city still occupied a special place in the life of India. During the latter part of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth, Lucknow and Oudh, the rich state of which it was capital, were the repository of Mughal culture after the erosion of Mughal power in Delhi. The [[w:East India Company|East India Company recognized this and made the rulers of Oudh kings in 1814, while steadily undermining their sovereignty and revenues from 1765 onwards. The kings, and the city they embellished with palaces and mosques, gradually became bywords for decadent refinement in every department of life, whether it was dress, banquets, the hookah, pigeon-breeding, music and poetry, or love-making.
  • Andrew Robinson, in "Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players: History Today Volume: 57 Issue: 7 2007"

• Lucknow is known for many things besides its ‘tehzeeb’ (etiquette). Its history, politics, food, clothes, music, culture and language are traits of a city steeped in rich traditions. Regarding the lack of startup eco-system in Lucknow, the legendary capital of Uttar Pradesh, even after having an IIM in town and couple of IITs nearby, after mulling over it for some time, I took upon this responsibility to build an eco-system here. ‘Bootstrap Weekend’ is a weekend meet up event which I have just kick started. Challenging the common perception that cities like Bangalore and Pune are the only places for tech startups, young entrepreneurs here are convinced about their reasons to choose Lucknow and how this city presents a unique opportunity.
  • Shradha Sharma, in From a laid-back Nawabi culture to Hi-Tech hub: Why Lucknow is the new startup destination of India?, yourstory.com, 27 February 2014.

• We knew there is great talent in Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh at large. Many people cannot leave their hometown to work in Bangalore or NCR. We started creating opportunities for the talented folks here to stay closer to their homes.
  • Anurag Rastogi, in "From a laid-back Nawabi culture to Hi-Tech hub: Why Lucknow is the new startup destination of India?"

• We have talented human resource in the city, and the city is far more economical than others. If you show the young people in the city that they can grow here, then there will be no reason for them to move to other cities. We have seen it happening at MeraDoctor and it’s very motivating.
  • Madhukar Pandey, in "From a laid-back Nawabi culture to Hi-Tech hub: Why Lucknow is the new startup destination of India?"