Andaaz-A Lucknow
Lucknowi Andaaz
IT IS rightly said that the culture of a place is reflected by the people living there. The people of Lucknow are amongst the most enthusiastic and courteous people in India. They are known to be a soft-spoken people who treat their guests as God. The place has a rich cultural heritage and is known as the city of the Nawabs. Their lifestyle is unique and ‘old world’ charm still obtains in the city. People call the city ‘Hamara Lucknow’. The way the people of Lucknow enjoy life is to be seen to be believed.
They do not like to use harsh words and abuses are virtually unheard of! The city of Nawabs is known for its "Pahle Aap” or “after you” culture.
A majority of the people speak Urdu, which is one of the sweetest languages. Urdu poetry and Urdu prose have their own charm and it is a delight to listen to Urdu prose and Urdu poetry. It is popularly called "Lukhnawi Tehzeeb".
Richness
Lucknow, the golden city of the east' retains an old world charm that fascinates one and all. Regarded as one of the finest cities of India, Lucknow emanates a culture that combines emotional warmth, a high degree of sophistication, courtesy and a love for gracious living. This sublime cultural richness famous as 'Lucknowi Tehzeeb' blends the cultures of two communities living side by side for centuries, sharing similar interests, speaking a common language -Urdu. Many of the cultural traits and customs peculiar to Lucknow have become living legends today. The credit for this goes to the Nawabs of Awadh, who took keen interest in every walk oflife and encouraged them to attain a rare degree of perfection
Life Known By Million Names
It is in fact a city with a million names. The Historical City of India, The Garden City of Nawabs, The Center for Learning are just a few names. The Lucknow in those days has left an impression on the sands of time and has still preserved its history and culture to a great extent. The Lucknow “tameez – tehzeeb”, “nazakat – nafasat” occupy a special place in the hearts of everyone. “Evening in Paris”, “ Bombay by Night”, “Night in London” are popular throughout the world, but Lucknowites can boast that “Sham – e – Avadh” tops them all.
Tehzeeb
Lucknow and Lakhnavis are the epitome of tehzeeb and nazakat. The thing about tehzeeb and nazakat is that they are very, very culture-specific: they belonged to a time and place in and around Lucknow, had their roots in a cultural flowering for which the Shia Nawabs of Lucknow were responsible.
Lucknow’s aap has nothing to do with Nawabi tehzeeb but all to do with a Ganga-Jamuni culture that includes the whole of Uttar Pradesh.
Lakhanavis pride themselves about addressing another person as ‘aap’ rather than Delhi-style ‘tu’.
Culture
Regarded as one of the finest cities of India, Lucknow is bravely struggling to retain its old world charm while at the same time acquiring a modern lifestyle .It represents a culture that combines emotional warmth, a high degree of sophistication, courtesy, and a love for gracious living. The Pehle-Aap (after you) culture represents the lucknavi tehzeeb is waning. But a small part of Lucknow's society still possesses such etiquette. .Lucknavi society is a mixture of culture of two different communities ,Hindu and Muslims, that have been living side by side for centuries, sharing similar interests and speaking a common language,Urdu.
Many of the cultural traits and customs peculiar to Lucknow have become living legends today. The credit for this goes to the secular and syncretic traditions of the Nawabs of Awadh, who took a keen interest in every walk of life, and encouraged the traditions to attain a rare degree of sophistication.
The people of Lucknow speak Urdu, which is one of the sweetest languages. The poetry and prose written in Urdu has its own charm and is a delight to listen to. The people of Lucknow have their own refined style of doing each and every thing. Even the smallest thing like rolling paan leaves and taking it with the proper etiquettes from a woman is done with the highest level of sophistication. It is popularly known as "Lukhnawi Tehzeeb", which means the mannerism of Lucknow.