My favourite city!. Review on Lucknow

''LUCKNOW'' is a favourite city of mine moreso b'coz I was born here and it's my native place and you tend to have a fascination for the place you are born in.I haven't lived in Lucknow but I keep visiting the place and since all my folks live here I have spent some of the best and most enjoyable time here.Leaving aside the emotional attachment,Lucknow is a wonderful city to visit and live.Lucknow more popularly known as the ''City of Nawabs''is a city rich in culture,music,art and language.I love everything about the place and in this review of mine i'ld try to write everything I love or know about the place.

PEOPLE:Well,i have always believed that its the people who make the place,and Lucknow is wonderful b'coz of its warm,loving and friendly people.Life in Lucknow isn't very fast or modern but the place and people have a charm of their own which makes them very likeable.People here are also famous for the way they speak.The ''Lucknow ki boli''is supposed to be very sweet and the people here speak with a lot of tehzeeb and adab which reflects the rich cultural background they had during the times of the Nawabs.

FOOD:The food here is pretty good and if you are fond of non-veg and Chaat then Lucknow is heaven.You get some amazing variety of Kebaba's and Mughlai cuisine here.Some of the specialities that I can think off now are Seekh kebab,Boti kebab,Kakori kebab,Shaimi kebab,Biryani,Murgh mussallam,Roomali and Sheermaal rotis(my mouth is already watering).The most famous and well-known shops,if you wanna have a taste of this food are Shikawat(near Jim khanna club)and Tunde ke kebab in Chowk.There are also lotsa small restaurants in the old city of Lucknow who serve some exceptionally tasty non-veg as well.If you are fond of Chaat then you can make your way to Chowdhary chaat corner(Hazratganj)or D.C.M in Aminabad.Burma bakery is very famous for cake,biscuits and pasteries while Babian,Spicey Bite,Mini mahal are famous for fast food and Chinese.If you are fond of sweet and ''dessert''then check out Kulfi-faluda(esp Prakash ki kulfi).Its absolutely Yummy!Chappan bhog and Ramasra are the famous sweet shops and there is a sweet called''Malai ki ghilori''which is very popular and delicious sweet of Lucknow so do not forget to taste it.If you plan to come to Lucknow in summers do carry a peti of Dassheri aam also with you,they are DELICIOUS.

SHOPPING\MARKETS:I won't say that Lucknow is a shoppers paradise but you get some amazing stuff here.Aminabad,Chowk,Hazratganj and Janpath are the most famous markets of Lucknow.Aminabad and Chowk are more kind of wholesale markets where you get everything ranging from antique furnitures,clothes,jewellery,utensils to food and vegetables.The stuff here is pretty cheap and you can do bargaining too.Aminabad is also good if you wanna do some bulk purchasing for marriage.The chicken work known as the ''CHICKENKAARI''and ITTAR-Perfumes(available in various fragrances)are also very famous here and Aminabad and Chowk are the best places to shop for these things.Hazratganj in comparison is a more modern and fashionable market but it has a old charm.There are lots of Big shops,showrooms,cinema halls,hotels and eating joints here.But Ganj is a bit expensive so its the best place to do window shopping and hang around with friends.I never tire of walking around the streets of Ganj,esp in the evenings.Its AMAZING.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:There are several old historical monuments in Lucknow to visit.

One of the most popular place to visit in Lucknow is the ''BARA IMAMBARA'''build by Asaf-Ud-Daulla in 1784.Bara Imambara is worth a visit b'coz of its exquisite architecture and huge and elegant building,one can have the view of the city from the roof.There is also ''BHULBHULAIYA''inside the Imambara where there are innumerable number of passages which can confuse the people,hence the name.You can also visit the Rumi Darwaza and Chota Imambara which is just nearby.RESIDENCY is also a tourist attraction and it holds special importance b'coz it was the base of the British army during the 1857 mutiny.The Lucknow Zoo here is also very popular and a good place to visit if you are fond of animals.There is also CUCKRAIL on the outskirts of Lucknow which is a crocodile park.There are also a few good parks here like Buddha park,Haathi park and Shaeed Samarak which serve as good picnic spots.

Apart from this i'ld also like to mention the festivals which are celebrated with lots of enthusiasm and fanfare here.I love going to Lucknow during Holi and Diwali.Its so much fun making and eating sweets,making Rangolis,excitement of getting new clothes and also money and playing cards.Its just amazing.

Well I may have made Lucknow sound like some extraordinary place in my review,but its just the love and affection I have got from this place and the bonding I share with this place,which has made Lucknow so very special to me.