We were up early we had to catch the 11:00 am Vande Bharat train form Lucknow Station to Ayodhya Cant. The aether in Lucknow had been cool and had rained on most days so the air was pleasant and cool on most afternoon. That made travelling around the city more fun and less tiring. But now It was time to explore Ayodhya the birthplace of Lord Rama and the city where the Babri Masjid was grazed to the ground. It is city where the new Ayodhya Ram mandir was unveiled by the new BJP government and that was the temple I most wanted to see. The train journey was very comfortable it’s as a nee train full ac with cushion seats and a goof fresh lunch was served to us as well. It’s as good a train service as one gets in Europe, I enjoyed the journey and was busy reading comic I had picked up from the book stall at the railway station.

The train journey was two hours long and soon we were at Ayodhya, we had decided to take up a simple hotel near the Ram Temple. The hotel was basic but most accommodation is basic here. Ayodhya is a small city but an ancient one, it is full of temples and remind me more of Haridwar. After taking some erst we decided to venture out and do some temple hopping. Our first stop was the ancient Sri Hanumat Bhawan, it is very old and many Hindus devotes come to pray here.

Next Stop was the Laxman Ghat, which was next to the Sarayu Nadi, which is a pious river for the people of Ayodhya, there is another temple called Ayodhya Dham here where I keenly watched a saint perform Pooja rituals and recite the verses of the Ramayana through a microphone. I walked across the riverbed which had many boats tied to its shores. Wooden boats are used to ferry tourists back and forth the great Sarayu. The boots had scared saffron flags with images of lord Ram and Hanuman painted on them, their sheer tied to the mast heads of the boats. They’re here huge wall paintings depicting images form the great epic Ramayana. I did not have the patience for a boat ride but instead watched the monkeys jumping from tree to tree eating bananas. The city is full of Monkeys and why not it was the monkeys who helped Rama vanquish the demon, Ravan. These animals are worshipped here, you can see monkeys prancing around many of the temples of Ayodhya looking for food. No one minds and most people enjoy feeding them it is like offering Prasad to hanuman.

Ayodhya

The best way to get about the city is by using the electric rickshaw, it is cheap and the most effective way to travel through the city to see all its sacred temples. The electric rickshaws are everywhere, and they are new, which emends the government has helped to make the transportation easier and safe for religious travelers.

Ayodhya by contrast to Lucknow was very hot, especially in the afternoons, my shirt would get wet with sweat, by the evening. It is advisable to have a lot of water as the city is quite hot and it can be de hydrating.

We also managed to see the Lata Mangeshkar Chowk which is a central part of Ayodhya. It was built in the honour of the great female singer the Nightingale of India Lata Ji.

There is a huge sculpture of a Veena, a musical instrument built to honour the famous singer along with a plague. One can just meander around the many by lanes or even sit on a bench to enjoy the sunset. In the evening the heat recedes a bit. Naturally we were hungry by all the wanderings and decided to die at the Robot restaurant, where the food is served by a AI robot to all the customers. I quite enjoyed the experience, never had a robot serve dinner to me like this and it was a novel experience. Ayodhya is a smaller city and very ancient, it is like an expanded version of a village. People here are very simple and almost everyone lives on religious tourism.

Guptar Ghat is situated on the banks of river Saryu and is the place where Ram took Jal Samadhi. The Ghat is also a famous and bustling boating spot, families can take boat rides across the Saryu River. The great King Darshan Singh built the Ghat in the 19th century. It also has a few temples which are a must see like the Hanuman Temple, Ram Janki Temple, Paduka Temple, Old Charan Temple and the Narsingh Temple.

Guptar Ghat 

It is 10 km from Ayodhya Junction and one can take an electric auto to get to the place. It has images of lord Rama without the bow and arrow this is because he left his body here on the banks of the Saryu River and left his bow behind in the world.

Guptar means Gupt Hari ka Dwaar and it is the place where Ram meditated. There are a lot of monks around and one can see pilgrims bathing in the holy river. It is on the Faridabad Road and a place was serenity where one can just be alone and be silent away from the hustle bustle of city life.

The Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula was the Third Nawab of Awadh and the Vazir of Delhi he rules and administrated Awadh from 1754 to 1774. Gulabbari is the Tomb of the Nawab. It is a monument dedicated to his memory and honor. Although the tomb and its gardens are very old, and the walls of the monument have paled with time and age, but it is still a place worth a visit if you are travelling through Ayodhya city. The tomb stands in the middle of the Char Bagh gardens, accompanied with fountains and shallow water channels.

The Nawab was also credited with building the famous Moti Mahal and the tomb of Bahu Begam.

Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula’s Tomb  

Nawab was a tall man with a fierce well-oiled moustache, he was also Aman of strength and brute force even when he was told he could lift two men with either hand. He could also cut the head of a Buffalo with one swish of his sword when he was well past his prime. The Nawab took a keen role in the battle of Panipat and the Battle of Buxar a key defining battle with the east India company.

Gulabbari is the tomb of such a great man. A man who was equally brave yet foolish. In the end he singed the Allahabad Treaty with the British which said that Allahabad district and Kora along with 5 million dollars would be given to the British and that they would be allowed free trade with Awadh.

I meandered around the tomb and the through the lush green gardens, taking pictures of the fountains whoosh where now dry. The water channels where full of water though and gave colour and texture to the entire area of the tomb. There is a chart hung on one of the wall’s that has the list of all the program’s that where organised during the Nawab’s time. The inner sanctum of the Tomb has the roams and the visitor’s area where the Nawab would meet with his council. There are chandeliers and old wall cloaks. I even saw a hookha in the corner of one of the rooms. The rooms however remain closed most days and are only open if there is a prayer or a festival.

Outside Gulabbari there are shops selling pakoda, Maggie and Batti Chokha. The Batti Chokha it is like fired samosas made from sattu. There are also Ince cream stalls, to beat the heat I advise you to see the tomb while eating a orange bar it’s much more fun, till then enjoy the pictures of the tomb and its lovely gardens.

Wajid Ali Shah was the last Nawab of Awadh born in 1821, he became the Nawab of Awadh at the tender age of twenty-one years and ruled Awadh for over nine years till his kingdom was annexed by the East India Company. The Nawab and a huge influence on Awadhi culture, people and cuisine. He was a patron of fine arts, music and culture. It is said that when he was a baby, he would cry a lot and to keep him quite the maids would sing and play an instrument. Since those years the Nawab developed a love for music. He was also a keen dancer and had learnt Kathak.

The Nawab had built a place for all his three hundred plus wives and he called this the Pari Khana a palace made for fairies. Here the woman sang songs and danced to please Wajid Ali Shah. The man had spawned many children form his wives and had married hundred and twelve of them. He had enjoyed sex for the first time at the age if eight and had also enjoyed sex with African slave women from Arabia. He had written more than sixty books and was also enthralled by architecture. He had commissioned the Bhool Bhulaiya and many other buildings in his kingdom.

Along with Kathy he was also the inventor of Thumri style of dance. The Tawaif’s of his court would also dance the tappa, dadara and kajara form of dance keeping focus on the act of Nakhara in their dance which means it was more mischievous and playful. It was he who made Kathak the official court dance making it popular amongst the masses.

Th Nawab was obese and on the heavy and bulky side. He loved good food and helped create the Tunday Kabab’s. He was also the one who developed and polarized the Thumri along with many new Raga’s. The man was an artist, poet and a play write. He had written a famous drama the first Urdu play called “Kissa radha Krishna ke.” And in the play, he himself would dress up as Krishan and even play the flute. These plays would be performed Infront of the crowd in a dram hall and people loved the Nawab’s performance. He did have an image of a debauched man, who had more than 375 wives in his harem. The Nawab had more wives than their sheer ads in the year. But many of the stories have been refuted by scholars, many say that the Nawab was an astute administrator and had fought for his rights. He also wanted to meet the Queen and fought his exile till he had no option left but to be exiled to Calcutta. At the age of thirty-one the Nawab was de throned and sent to west Bengal where he stayed for thirty-one years till the end of his life.

Even in Calcutta he kept up with the Awadhi culture and introduced Awadhi cuisine to the people of Bengal.

The Ambedkar Memorial Park formerly known as the Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Privartan Prateek Sthal, is a park open to the public situated in the posh Gomti Nagar of Lucknow the Nagar is one of the largest planned settlements in the city. You can enter the Park by paying a nominal fee of Rs 50. It is symbol of the political heritage of the Bahujan Samajwadi Party and is built in the honour of the first law minister of India Dr Ambedkar the man who wrote the constitution of India.

The park has 124 monumental elephants that adorn it and it is made from sandstone bought form Rajasthan. It also honors stalwarts of the BSP like Kanshi Ram, Bisra Munda, Narayan Guru and Jyotirao Phule. Its foundation stone was first laid in 1995 by the then Chief Minister Mayawati.

The Splendour of Ambedkar Park 

The Ambedkar Stupa is at the heart of the memorial park, it has a large bronze statue of Ambedkar in the Centre and has four doors along with two tombs the structure is made like a petal with Ambedkar’s statue in the Centre.

The total size of the park is 107 acres, and it can take you an entire day to fully see and enjoy the park and its scenic beauty. The Dream project costed around 5 billion rupees and the annual income from gate receipts is 90 crore. The park has been used extensively for film and music video shoots as well. Some super hit films like Youngistan, Barely Ki Barfi and Dawaat Eh Ishq where shot at the park.

I managed to spend an entire afternoon here walking across the elephants and sand stone monuments of the park. It has been raining all throughout our visit to Lucknow but I still managed to take a full round of the park. I also ventured to see the large marble statue of Mayawati which adorns the park. Till then enjoy the pictures of my excursion.

The first thing that we are told hen we arrive in the city of Lucknow is to try the Kabab’s at Tunday. This is the most famous kabab and Awadhi cuisine joint in the city. The place is world famous and a must visit by most travellers who come to explore this city. I too was excited and wanted to die in this very traditional food joint.

The restaurant started in 1905 and its famous for its Buffalo Meat Tunday Kabab’s, they are so soft and tender that they melt in the mouth. Usman Bhai is the man who operates the food joint and has been honoured by many business awards for the delicacies that Tunday cooks up for its guests. The restaurant also has a hall of fame, almost all great Bollywood stars have eaten here including Shah Rukh, Amir Khan and Salman Khan. I managed to get a picture of the Hall of Fame Gallery and was pleasantly surprised that it was a large joint. The seating arrangement was on the lower floor and one had to climb down a fleet of stars to get to the main dining area. The place was simple wooden tables and simple chairs. Their sheer busy waiters carrying plate full of kaka’s and biriyani’s to the many customers.

Tunday Kababi

I took my seat and then went through the menu, I was tempted to order a mutton korma and a Awadhi Biriyani but the changed my mind. I finally ordered four pieces of Buffalo Tunday Kabab with to roti’s, along with a large piece of Shahi Tukra. The kabab’s where indeed mouth-watering and melted in the mouth, I managed to wash it down with a can of mountain dew.

The place is neat and clean and they have air conditioning, one is served fast and there is less waiting time.

After a meal one can enjoy a shahi paan and even purchase attar or perfume form the many shops around this famous eatery.

Tunday ke Kabab also known as Gauloti Kabab is made from over 160 different ingredients and nasals that the buffalo minces meat is cooked with. The Kabab’s are part of Awadhi Cuisine and was introduced by the great Saab Wajid Ali Shah.

The story and the legend have it that once the Nawab threw open a coalition to all his royal cooks and khansama’s that whoever cooked up the softest and chewiest kababs in the kingdom would be declared the winner. It was here that a cook by the name of Haji Murad Ali he was also called Tunde because he had only one arm made the most delicious kabab’s with over 100 ingredients which including many aphrodisiacs. This the Nawab enjoyed and liked the most the Kabab’s since then got the name of Tunday Ke Kabab and Haji was declared the winner. Th fame of the delicious kabab’s spread all over Awadh. They were also known as Gauloti Kabab’s on a Hindi Urdu word which means melting in the mouth.

The largest park of the capital city of Uttar Pradesh Lucknow is the Janeshwar Mishra Park. This is a must-see place, if one wants to get into a quite space. The park is huge, and it is a place of peace and tranquility. The park has a long meandering walkway and has a jogger’s area and a cycling track as well. It is situated in Gomti Nagar in the honour a Samajwadi Party politician called Janeshwar Mishra. Inspired by the grand Hyde Park of London the park construction began in 2012 and it was inaugurated by Akhilesh Yadav, the park was a dream project of his father Mulayam Singh.

The blueprint of the park was made by the Delhi based school pf planning and architecture and its entire cost was about Rs 168 crore. The water reservoirs in the park are full of large gold finches and I aged to get some great pictures of the goldfish floating around in the water.

Park

We did manage to catch up with a film called Stree Two in the afternoon but that was all, infect I just saw half of the film, my main purpose was to explore the malls of Lucknow which were very Morden. The city also has an underground that I thought was fascinating. What I most enjoyed was walking thought the small Gail’s and alleys of the city looking for faluda kulfi and motichoor ke laddoo. The street matka kulfi is the best in town for Rs 100 you can enjoy a large pattal full of yellow saffron puli with tasty, sweet faluda in syrup along with lots of dry fruits and malai. It was a treat, and I kept eating s I walked around the city observing it and trying to get a flavor of the place.

Lucknow is a big city with large monuments and government buildings. It has many banks and arm’s along with a vibrant market with all fashion brands on display. I even managed to see a Burger King in the city and almost all high street brands I was amazed at how plush and large the Palassio Mall in Gomti Nagar was, it was indeed very large.

The city of Lucknow is a city which is a mix of its past glorious heritage and Mughal history, but it has also embraced the new and the modern keeping with intact within its embrace. One can transcend both the old and the new in this now capital city of the largest state of India. The seat of UP Politics and Governance. On my auto ride I also maxed to get a glimpse of the opulent farmhouse and abode of the great Sahara Shree, the strong man of Lucknow. All I could see where huge wall’s the man’s house looked like a guided fortress rather than a place to be lived in. The man is now dead and all that remains is his legacy.

I had fond memories of Lucknow a city I had visited in my younger days when I was doing my MBA it was almost twenty-five years back. I had come here with a few college friends to attend the IIM-Lucknow management festival. We did not win the festival, but we won all the marketing and advertising games. Now after ages I was retiring to explore the city and its wonders once again along with my friend Tiwari. We decided to take the Vande Bharat fast train to Lucknow from Varanasi.

I was also traveling by train which has its own charm. We packed our bags and grabbed a bag full of munches, potato chips, cold drinks and pop corns and boarded the train at six in the morning. I slept though out the journey which was comfortable, we were served breakfast, tea and coffee and the seats where relaxing as well.

Lucknow

I was fairly impressed with the facilities and cleanliness of the Lucknow rail station when we arrived their where trolleys for the handicapped and facilities to drink fresh water. We were advised to stay at Amina Bad and duly checked into Pal International, the room tariff was Rs 3500 with breakfast, there was wifi, TV and air conditioning. I quite liked it we were in a affordable place yet it was quite luxurious.

First thing that I noticed about the city was that it was large and spacious and many of its marketplaces reminded me of Delhi. But I was amazed to see broad streets and a bustling traffic. We used the electric rickshaw as our primary mode of travel inside the city, that’s how the locals travelled, and we wanted to do the same.

Our First stop was the Lucknow Zoo after paying the entrance fee we meandered into the Zoo. I was quite enthralled by the tigers and the foxes that robed the green pastures of the zoo. The pythons and the snakes are a major attraction along with the Macau and the colourful pheasants. The zoo is full of gardens and had dinosaur sculptures, I paged to get a few pictures as well. It is the end of September, but the city was still wet by a shallow consistent rain that would start in the morning and go on till the night, a very consistent shallow rain.

I decided to walk the city anyways and after the zoo we went to the Bara Imambara. This was the real heritage and face of Awadh culture. Th huge buildings had paintings of ancient Nawabs and Kings who Ince ruled the city. The portraits seemed almost life like, there was one large picture of the Nawab Wajid Ali  Shah.

Mirza Wajid Ali Shah was the last ruler of Awadh and ruled for nine years after his coronation in 1847, Awadh was protected by the East India Company but in 1956 it was annexed by the British who exiled the Mirza to a mansion in Calcutta where he lived out the rest of his life on a generous pension. He was a ruler known as the patriot of the arts, he was a poet a play writer and a dancer. The man had over 375 women in his harem and some of them where high class courtesans who served his sexual appetites.

It was lord Dalhousie who disposed of the king accusing him of misrule. The Mirza was shown as an enthusiastic man who, over art, dance and music in the famous Satyajit Ray Film Shatranj ke Khiladi. Every auto driver knows the famous story of the Nawab that when the British came to annex the city and their army reached the fort the Nawab remained in his bed and chamber playing chess. Hew a asked to run for his life but all he said casually was “How can I run I can’t wear my shoes without the help of my servant and gulam, I am waiting for someone to help me with my royal shoes.”

The Bara Imambara was built by the Nizam of Awadh Asaf Ud Daula. It is place of prayer build by the Shia Muslim sect of Islam. The place also has the Asfi Mosque the Bhool Bhulaiya and the Bowl which is a huge reservoir of water like a pond. The Imam Bad is a religious site for the Muslim’s and is used for prayers during Muharram.

There is also the Roomi Darwaza just outside which is a building 18 meters tall. One can take a tour of the entire area, the best way to do that is to take a horse carriage which will take you around the entire monument