6 Interesting Facts About Lucknow That You Might Not Know

Lucknow, the City of Nawabs has a cultural and historic importance that everyone is aware of. Of beautiful monuments, mouthwatering food, historical places and tourists thronging the city in large numbers to behold the heritage sites, Lucknow can charm anyone.

The city has its own enigma and there are so many mysteries about it that people are unaware of. So here are 6 facts about Lucknow we bet you didn’t know:

1. Hazratganj has no electrical wires: Hazratganj is a favourite shopping area of every Lucknowite. But do you know that this buzzing area, which is situated in the heart of the city has no electrical wires? Yes, the electrical wires are all underground, making the area look neat and beautiful.

2. Longest race course: The race course in Lucknow is the longest one in India. The length of the track is 3.5 km and was built in the year 1880.

3. Bara Imambara: Largest Hall in Asia: Bara Imambara is a frequented tourist spot in the city. The construction of this huge hall was started for the sole purpose of giving people employment. It took six years to get completed in 1791 and is the largest hall in Asia without any external support from wood, iron or stone beams.

4. The birth of Tunday Kebabs: Do you know the mind blowing story behind the succulent Tunday Kebabs you so blissfully enjoy today? Well, in old times, a Nawab of Lucknow who really loved food lost his teeth due to old age, preventing him from chewing anything. So, he held a contest to find the person who would create the softest and juiciest kebabs. Haji Murad Ali managed to do that. The man had only one hand and hence, the name, Tunday Kebabs (one-armed man kebabs).

5. First CCTV city in India: Another interesting fact about Lucknow that you might not know is that it became the first city in India to install security cameras all over in 2015. Now, it has more than 10,000 cameras in the entire city and also uses drones for surveillance. Some of these drones also spray pepper when crowd-control is needed.

6. Tallest clock tower in India: The Husainabad clock tower in Lucknow, which was built as a replica of the Ben clock tower in London in 1881 is the tallest clock tower in India, standing proudly at a height of 220 ft. If you can’t visit London right now, might as well go to Lucknow and gape at this beauty.

What are some other lesser known facts about Lucknow you can think of?