City of nawabs, a joy to behold

Aradhika Sharma

In celebrating the spiritual glory of Benares, which has now become a ‘must visit’ city, Lucknow has fallen somewhat off the public parlance. It was thus with infinite surprise and delight that one sampled the manifold experiences that this glorious city, also known as the ‘city of nawabs’ or the ‘city of tehzeeb’, has to offer. The capital city of Uttar Pradesh is unparalleled in terms of architecture (Mughal and British), gastronomical delights, plentiful shopping, history and public narrative. Adding a little tadka to this delicious smorgasbord of culture are the denizens ever ready to converse and argue in a perfectly amiable manner about life and times. Lucknow is an experience that leaves you satiated yet thirsting for more.

The city enfolds some of the finest examples of the colonial and Mughal architecture. In addition, there are remarkable samples of ex-CM Mayawati’s unique ‘elephant’ architecture. However, the beauty and grandeur of the older architecture are a joy to behold.

Colonial magnificence

The Vidhan Bhavan (Council House), for example, is grand and wondrous. Beautifully lit at night, it claims its place as one of the finest examples of Indo-European architectural craftsmanship of the 20th century. The foundation stone of this building was laid by the then Governor Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler in 1922, and was completed in 1928. The crescent shaped, double-storeyed structure is built with carved light-brown sandstone blocks from Mirzapur.

The Residency (or what remains of it) stands in sprawling green lawns spread over 33 acres, witness to the first war of Independence. The complex, that evokes memories of both the Nawabi and British periods, contains ruins of the residential quarters for the army personnel and their families, armouries, khansama’s quarters, tehkhanas, Begum Kothi, Dr Fayrer’s house, dispensaries, a cemetery, a chapel, a grand ballroom and a sophisticated water management and sewerage systems. The Residency was built in 1774, when Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula agreed to have a British resident stationed in Awadh. Major General Claude Martin, a French soldier and architect, also built many buildings within the premises. With the defeat of the East India Company in the first battle of Chinhut, the entire Residency complex faced shelling over a long siege of five months. Heat, rains and diseases took an appalling toll on the besieging mutineers and the defenders and caused immense structural damage to the buildings, one of which houses the 1857 Memorial Museum.

Other significant examples of the colonial architecture are King George Medical University, Christ church, Charbagh railway station, La Martiniere School, the Husainabad Clock Tower and many more.

Mughal majesty

Among the finest examples of the Lakhnavi-Mughal architecture is the Bara Imambara complex. The doorway between the Bara Imambara and Chota Imambara is the imposing Rumi Darwaza (Turkish Gate), constructed in 1784 under the rule of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. The Bara Imambara (designed by Hafiz Kifayat Ullah), one of the most stunning heritage structures in the country, was constructed between 1785 and 1791 AD to resolve the issue of a long famine. Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula had it built to help the poor make a living. It is said that to prolong the work, at night the Nawab’s noblemen would demolish structures which were built in the daytime by the construction workers. The demolition of the structure was discontinued when the famine ended.

The central hall of the main building (170ft x 55ft) proudly stands without any columns. The complex contains a mosque as well as a baoli (stepwells) and the fascinating bhool bhulaiya, which is a labyrinth of 1,000 inter-connected passages and 489 identical doorways, leading into a series of channels. Stories abound of people who were foolhardy enough to go in without a guide, never to return. Other Mughal wonders include the Shahnajaf Imambara, Kaiserbagh Palace, Tombs of Saadat Ali Khan and Khurshid Zadi, Sikandar Bagh among many more fascinating sites.

Labyrinth of marketplaces

No less of bhool bhulaiyas are the marketplaces of Aminabad with their narrow lanes, proliferating with small shops and haggling customers. Bangles, belts, western and Indian clothes, shoes, vegetables, linen, stoles, plastic vessels, saris, burquas- if you can imagine it, it’s here and at cheap rates.

The Chowk market, with its network of streets leading from one to another, is probably one of the most ancient shopping areas in North India. You’ll find exquisite chikan work here (as well as the chicken of the edible kind and of course stalls of the famous succulent Lakhnavi kebabs). In addition, you can purchase beautiful zardozi work, handmade jewellery, nagara juttis, ittar of real flowers. You get the feel of a traditional Awadhi marketplace.

Hazratganj, so named in 1842, is the Connaught Circus of Lucknow, complete with a Janpath (also a good place for chikankari shopping). A favourite activity of the locals is to go ‘Ganjing’. When the British took over Lucknow after 1857, they remodelled the street to look like the Queen Street in London. Recently, it underwent a makeover to give it a trendier look— the buildings have been painted a uniform cream and pink colour. However, many heritage buildings are in dire need of maintenance.

The travellers to Lucknow will come back with a surfeit of experiences, bags full of shopping and a camera loaded with pictures. And then, go back for more.