RTWA 7: Lucknow Residency and Bara Imambara

Varanasi to Lucknow is not very far. Its about 300KMs. But road isn't great. It took us more than 7 hours to cover. But its all worth it. Lucknow is a beauty or at least the area we saw. Traffic is so much better than Allahabad or Varanasi. We reached around 2pm, so we had lunch and then went to Residency or British Residency Complex. It's in the heart of Lucknow built by Nawab of Awadh. In 1857 during the First war of Indian Independence residency witnessed a prolonged battle known as Siege of Lucknow, until British abandoned Lucknow. You will see remains inside the residency. One of the building also houses 1857 memorial museum.

Memorial inside residency
Memorial inside residency
Still functioning mosque inside residency
Still functioning mosque inside residency
Mosque
Mosque
Plaque in memory of fallen British soldiers
Plaque in memory of fallen British soldiers
Memorial for fallen British Soldiers
Memorial for fallen British Soldiers
Guns in front of 1857 museum
Guns in front of 1857 museum

After Residency we quickly left to Bara Imambara. It was already five and it closes by 6. But I think an hour is decent amount of time. Also we hired a guide which was a good move. The complex has Asfi mosque, the bhul-bhulaiya or the labyrinth and bowli, a step well. It has two majestic entrances and a hall.

Entrance to the complex
Entrance to the complex
Sunset at  Asfi mosque.
Sunset at Asfi mosque.
Top view of the complex
Top view of the complex

The main imambara is a huge hall measuring 50x16 meters and 15 meters tall. It has no beams or pillars to support the ceiling. It apparently one of its kind in the world. It also houses a Labyrinth. As defined by wikipedia its possibly one of the most interesting building I have visited

Entrace to Main hall
Entrance to Main hall

There are eight surrounding chambers built to different roof heights, permitting the space above these to be reconstructed as a three-dimensional labyrinth with passages interconnecting with each other through 489 identical doorways. This part of the building, and often the whole complex, may be referred to as the Bhulbhulaya. Known as a popular attraction, it is possibly the only existing maze in India and came about unintentionally to support the weight of the building which is constructed on marshy land.

bhul-bhulaiya (the labyrinth)
Inside bhul-bhulaiya (the labyrinth)

Then we walked a bit to see Runi gate and Husainabad clock tower, which is the tallest clock tower in India.

Rumi Gate
Rumi Gate
Clock Tower
Husainabad Clock Tower
Ghata Ghar Ralaab

We ended the day with Biryaani and Kabab from the world famous Thunday Kababi.

Thunday Kababi
Thunday Kababi
Pan from the shop opposite to Thunday.
Pan from the shop opposite to Thunday.

You can read this blog using RSS Feed. But if you are the person who loves getting emails, then you can join my readers by signing up.

Join 2,231 other subscribers

1 Response

  1. Bharat Taxi says:

    Awesome! Thanks for sharing this post. We know that Lucknow city itself is famous for many aspects of its rich culture, from music, poetry, travel, and food etc.This post is very nice.Thanks for sharing this interesting post with us.