Three Cheers for Lucknow Mahotsav

After the late night parties and the high stakes Diwali card games of teen patti begin to dwindle,  it’s a time when Lucknow is at its most listless and restless. The cool beautiful evenings and nights beg entertainment, but there isn’t any coming. And then bang! Come November 25 and the city seems to come alive again, for the Lucknow Mahotsav is here! Organised every year for ten days (and usually extended another week or so on public demand), this fair has been the single most important cultural event in the life of the city’s people since its inception. Here’s providing three of the biggest reasons that make this event such a hit.

The city is witness to beautiful performances during the festival.

Awadh Meets its Match in Bollywood

Or so it seems! Stars from Mumbai seem to descend on the city in a flight of flurry, eager for appreciation from the culturally sophisticated Lukhnavis. While kathak performances by the Lucknow gharana, beautiful classical renditions by the likes of Girija Devi and Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia have their own place in the hearts of Lucknow wallahs, the additional glamour that is lent to the event when performers like Indian Ocean, Sunidhi Chauhan, Abhijeet, Raju Srivastava, Rakhi Sawant and Sonu Nigam set the stage on fire, is what keeps the cash registers ringing. The so-called ‘glamour quotient’ of the Mahotsav has seen a steady rise over the years and makes it a great draw for the city’s denizens. How often do they otherwise get their shower of star dust in Uttar Pradesh? So, ‘aur, kaun aa raha hai iss saal?’ is the one question all localities and media reporters ask repeatedly, till the list is out!

The Maha Shopping Season

The Mahotsav brings together artisans and craftsmen from across the country. You can find carpets, rugs and pashminas from Kashmir, ghaghras, odhnis, chunky jewellery mirror-work bags and linen from Rajasthan, lacquerware from Karnataka, sheesham furniture from Saharanpur, Madhubani paintings from Bihar, and much more. These exotic items arrive in the city once a year making it the perfect time for shoppers to pick up all they want. The prices are usually hiked up and bargaining hard is the way to go, but for months after this, women will all be fawning over each other’s purchases and regretting having ‘missed that stall’.

The historical Bara Imambara in Lucknow is one of its grandest structures.

The Lazeez Awadhi Khana

If there’s any single city’s cuisine that has won hearts across the world it has got to be that of Lucknow. From its famous tundey, shekhawati and kakori kebabs, to Aminabad’s biryani, aaloo chaat, bhel puri and kulfi-falooda you won’t savour such taste anywhere else. That’s a guarantee the organisers are willing to give you. And not without reason. The city is indeed well known for its delicious and mouthwatering fare and there is no better place for a visitor to try out the many culinary delights that the city has on offer than at the Lucknow Mahotsav. The food area is usually the most crowded with people gorging on an endless array of delights. The secrets of Awadhi cuisine are little known outside the city and those who taste these delights once always come back for more.

This is why the city’s denizens and tourists eagerly await the festival for its yearly cultural and gastronomical stimulation. So plan ahead, book your tickets and get ready for some good old Lukhnavi indulgence.