Therefore, I wish to write a brief account of the conditions and peculiarities of that court.The articles published in Guzashta Lucknow were first serialised in Abdul Halim Sharar's journal Dilgudaz from 1913 to 1919.
Sharar picks up the strands of history from Faizabad and ends his chronicle with the exile Wajid Ali Shah in Matiya Burj, Calcutta and the First War of Independence.
In later chapters, Sharar provides information about the various Nawabi buildings as well as about the various markets and mohallas (living quarters) that were built at the time.
Chapter 11 describes in clear terms the evolution of prose from the ornate and formalised style into that of simplicity and clarity.
Sharar describes the various devices used by the ordinary people for merriment in everyday life, namely phabti (satire), zila (double meaning), tuk bandi (rhyming), khayal and danda (writing poems about influential persons and events in satirical vein).
In another chapter, Sharar details the different forms of self-defence in vogue in Lucknow, namely lakri (use of sticks), pata hilana (wooden sword), bank (knives), binaut (staves), kushti (wrestling), barchha (spears), bana (cudgels).