HISTORY  
 

 Did someone once say "it is enough I want my Luck now". No - and nobody knows how exactly Lucknow got its name but reference to name 'Lucknow' is found during Akbar's rule.. There are few schools of thought how it happened: Lord Ramchandra was enthroned as King when he returned to Ayodhya after completing his exile of 14 years and Lanka victory. At that time he gave this place to his younger brother Lakshman. Lakshman is believed to have stayed in Lakshman Teela, one of high ground near banks of river Gomti. Later the region was named after him as 'Lucknow' which is derived from the name Lakshman.
There was one very influential person by name 'Lakhan Ahir' who built the fort 'Qila Lakhan'. This name 'Qila Lakhan' later became Lucknow. Some other source says that one Lakhu Khan who was earlier a non-muslim by name Laxman Singh has lent his name to Lucknow.

It is believed that grandson of Yudhishthir, Janmejaya gave this region to saints and hence the place was full of ashrams and the Brahmins and Kayastha lived here. Lucknow was an important settlement during Kosala Empire and remained so through Mauria and Gupta periods. During the twilight of Hindu rule King JaiChand of Kannauj took control of the area around Lucknow presently known as Awadh. Later two tribes Bhar and Paansi captured this region. These were the tribes who fought Sayyed Salar Masood Gazi in 1030 AD and probably Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1202 and these were times when muslims first came to this part.Mahmud Ghaznavi was the first Muslim ruler who conquered Lucknow in 1018. He left behind one of his sardar Saiyed Salar Sahu who was his brother in law also. Akbar divided the whole of India into 12 provinces and Lucknow was chosen as the seat of Subedar of Awadh. Shaikh Abdur Rahim a nobleman was entrusted with the jagir of Awadh. He built a five storeyed palace the Panch Mahala. His tomb is today known as the Nadan Mahal. He also built a fort the Machchi Bhawan which soon became the centre of activity at Lucknow, at the present site of Medical College today. there than Shaikh Abdur Rahim's family, the Shaikhzadas, a number of pathans also settled at Lucknow, who soon became a paramount power and gradually Lucknow started growing as a commercial centre. The power of the Shaikhzadas remain unchallenged until Saadat Khan stepped in, being appointed subedar in 1722. The progeny of the sardars were later on known as Sheikhs who settled in and around Lucknow. Some of the Sheikhs fought and established themselves as rajas and landlords.

Subedars of Lucknow
During Akbar era - Jawahar Khan
During Jehangir era - Qazi Mahmood Bilgrami
During Shahjahan era - Sultan Ali Shah Kuli Khan

NAWABS

The nawabs of Awadh were by and large not good warriors. They were of average intelligence and easy going, sensual and pleasure loving personalities. Sir Henry Lawrence writes "The oudh rulers have been no worse than monarchs in such situations usually are; indeed they might have been better than expected. Weak, vicious and dissolute they were, but they have seldom been cruel and have never been false. In the storms of the last half century, Oudh is the one single native state that invariably been true to British Government. A verdict of so stern
a moralist should be remembered by those who are inclined to think that Nawabs of Oudh were monsters of treachery and misrule."

THE FABLED CITY

LUCKNOW,. the capital of Uttar Pradesh,is as mysteries and unfathomable as its myraid lanes that twist into each other. No otherplace has been able to blend its past with the present with such consummate ease as has lucknow. Sure enough, while the city has its fair share of Imambaras,Chikankari and Zardozi.,it also has a fine sprinkling of plush showrooms,restaurants,cybercafes, pool parlours,clubs and hotels.Of late, several international infotech companies and coorprates have come to Lucknow, making it a truly cosmopolitan city. Today,the city isn't laid back any more. It's hep.And it's happening.

Situated on the banks of river Gomti, the birth of this fabled city is said to date of Suryavanshi dynasty. Though Avadh was founded by a persian adventurer Saadat Ali Khan in 1732, it was Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula (1775-98) who beautified the city by constructing some of its most beautiful monuments. After the Mugal Empire crumbled in the early part of the 18th century, the centre of the highly-developed Indo-Mugal culture and arts shifted from Delhi to Lucknow where it reached the zenith of splendour,sophistication and refinement.

The city became known for its poetry and courtly diction and transformed into an oasis of learning, music and poetry during the reign of nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last of the Nawab of Avadh. Beneath the rapidly spreading tentacles of british mightand culture,Wajid Ali Shah upturned the meaningof culture to create a unique concept of Asiatic freedom. Subsuming single block of emotions into montage of pure pleasure, he broke all naturalistic and thematic rules common to Bharatnatyam and Kathakali.
Khayal,thumri,dadra,tappa,hori and dhrupad-- all developed under his royal patronage.