As the 18th century seat of the Nawabs of Awadh, Lucknow flourished becoming an important political and cultural centre,rivalling Delhi in its patronage to art and literature. It was during this time that culture and architecture synthesized emerging in a distinct form now so typical to the Lucknow culture. The peace and prosperity under the governance of the Nawabs brought about a cultural renaissance in Awadh. Musicians and dancers flocked to Lucknow giving birth to new musical forms and instruments under the patronage of the royalty. Art forms like Kathak, Thumri, Khayal, Dadra, Qawalis, Ghazals and Shero Shairi saw their finest hour. In this era major stress was laid on even minor detail like the art of dressing, apparels (libaas) and  jewellery all symbolic of genteel lifestyle. The legacy of the exquisite emboridery still lives on with equal zest in today's modern era. Culinary skills, too, reached heights of excellence as the Nawabs were not only gracious hosts but also extremely fond of good nutritious food. Thus emerged the skillful art of slow cooking. The royalty of Awadh was also famous for indulging in extravagant pastimes like elephant and rooster fights and kite flying, a game that still evokes passionate involvement among the flyers and bystander alike.

Ibn-e-Batuta mentions about the ritual of serving pan as the first things to a guest at the time of his arrival and departure. This is one of the customs which is still quite popular in Lucknow. Some treat pan as another form of taking nicotine but that is not a necessary ingredient. Pan is a leaf of a vine grown in hot and humid climate but under the shade so that direct sunlight does not burn the leaves. A knowledgeable eater can recite a good number of varieties in pan along with their specialties. Generally pan is used with catechu (kattha) and quick lime which brings the red color. Beetlenuts and other items like clove, cardamom, peppermint are added for special taste and aroma. Overall a good pan is a delight which gives good aroma and pleasant red color to mouth and lips.

Music and dance in Lucknow have been highlights of any article talking about Nawabi era here. From ancient times music and dance had been the part of Indian culture. By the time Avadh dynasty was established in Lucknow the art of dance and music had developed in Delhi court and attained a high standard. Author of ‘Tarikh-e Faizabad’ says that Shuja ud Daula had great interest in dance and music. Asf ud Daula brought few musicians of the Delhi court and Agra. A book was commissioned in his court in Persian by name ‘Usul ul Naghmat ul Asafia’ and people believe this as the best book on music to date. At least fifteen lady singers and five hundred men were employed in his court. Music didn’t go places in Nawab Saadat Ali Khan’s era. Ghazi uddin Haider had a great musician called Haideri in his court. During Wajid Ali Shah’s time , Piar Khan, Jaafer Khan, Haideri Khan and Basant Khan were very famous. All of them belonged to the family of Tansen. Qawwali was another form of musical score which is still very popular. It is sung ny a party of four to six musicians. Qawwali is actually a devotional form of music but now a days it has become more or less an entertainment piece for the public. The last word in the realm of music and dance was Wajid Ali Shah who has been condemned by English and Indian writers at times. However the fact is that he was connoisseur , patron and master of the art of music. He knew how to play all the instruments, sing all type of ragas, wrote thumries, dadras, and nataks.

The art of playing different musical instruments were practiced for a long time. Muslims brought to India some more of them like rabab, chang, shahnai, barbat and sarood. During Nawabi era the six types of musical instruments were most popular on various functions and occasions : Dhol - tashe, Roshan Chauki, Naubat, Turhi Karna, Danka & Bugle and organ Baza.

Dhol - tasha : Tomtom comes closest to it in translation. In Lucknow such group used to include three - four big dhol and and up to two or three tashe along with a cymbal. Cymbal finds its mention in Iran and Tasha in Egypt but Dhol is purely Indian instrument. This instrument was very popular and even Wajid Ali Shah used to play a Tasha during Muharram.

Roshan Chauki : It is one of the oldest instrument combination and was brought in India in pieces by muslims.Shahnai (Clarionet) is an essential part of it. This has been special instrument played for Indian rulers in their courts and includes at least two shahnai players and one tabla player. Tabla is used to provide beat while shahnai provides rhythm. Even today this is one of the attractions in marriages in Lucknow.

Naubat : This is probably the most glorious bands from ancient India and consists of two or three shahnai players, and same number of nakkara (drum) players. This used to be a symbol of prosperity and honour. This was also used to indicate the time all round the clock.

Turhi and Karna : National instruments which were mainly used in army. Turhi came to India with British but Karna (Shankh) is Iranian instrument.

Danka and Bugle : This is a mediocre combination of new and old instruments. Danka is the drum which was carried by soldiers on horses in army and bugle is an instrument used by British army in order to coordinate the army movements.

Organ Baza : This is British instrument and was played mainly by sweepers. Most of the tunes played on organ were not Indian but the when a group in beautiful uniforms used to play them in unison it used to look good.
 

The art of cooking goes with the eating habits of the people in society. The food cooked in Lucknow surpassed every dish, not only of the past but the contemporary cooking art of Delhi and other places. There had been number of instance quoted in the chronicles which throw light on the types of dishes made and the innovation introduced by the expert cooks. The variation of dishes had been numerous and Masud Hassan Rizvi mentioned that there were about 37 types of breads, 47 types of pulao, 35 types of zarda, 19 types of kababs, 5 types of meat curry, 37 types of halwa cooked in those days. Food from six kitchens was served for Nawab Shuja ud Daula and his wife, daily expense of each kitchen was 2000 Rupees and approximately 7 to 8 lacks of Rupees were spent annually on food. Nawab Salarjung’s cook is said to get 1200 Rupees monthly salary and used to cook special pulao for him which was very heavy and it was advised not to have that more than a few mouthfuls. Once Shuja ud Daula took that pulao more than what he was advised then he had drink a lot of water in order to get back to normal. Once Wajid Ali Shah tricked prince Asman Qadar of Delhi by serving a mutton curry which looked like marmalade. Asman Qadar then reversed the trick and served a lot of dishes made of sugar but which looked otherwsie.