Old Lucknow

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The City of Lucknow has a fascinating and tumultuous history.   Long occupied by Mogul rulers who fostered the arts and developed a sophisticated culture,  it came under control of the British East India Company in the late 1700’s and was administered from the distant Bengal Presidency in Calcutta.  The oppressive foreign commercial control led finally to the infamous mutiny of 1857, considered by some to be the first India independence movement, resulting in blood shed throughout North India.  With the barely-won suppression by the British military over the revolutionaries, the British Raj was established, ruling from London, leading to another 90 years of colonial rule until 1946.

I have not been to Lucknow before and have looked forward to seeing this important historical center of Mogul culture. We first visit the old monuments built as religious Muslim structures by the Nawabs, or local rulers.   The Shia imambaras, monuments to the martyrdom of Mohammed’s grandson Hussein, stand as magnificent reminders of the past and of the beauty of the architecture of those times.  Although representative images are prohibited in general in Muslim culture, this was breached in the late 1700’s by the local Nawab of Awadh to display the image of a great fish, a carp, which as the story goes, jumped into his lap while crossing the Ganges river and was seen as an auspicious sign, becoming the symbol of his reign. It shows up on buildings all over the city. This structure was erected by the Nawab in order to provide work to the local people who were starving from a famine and could not buy food.  It is said it was built by some during the day and torn down by others at night to provide continuous work during this time of emergency. The mosque nearby is one of the biggest in Asia.

The gate facing the Bara Imambara with another gate “to balance the aesthetic structure” seen through the arch.

The huge high ceilinged hall and side rooms are used during Shia festivals.   On the next level above is a labyrinth of small alcoves and tunnels, famous as a labyrinth, which lighten the load of the roof and allow for an open unsupported area below.  We were required to remove our shoes to enter the hall, which was not a problem for me, but during our viewing of the upstairs narrow passages which also provided cooling ventilation, there were very rough stones and small pebbles which made the soles of my soft American feet quite sore.  Thick socks would have been very useful.   

The Main Imambara. Hall with tomb of the Nawab in the center.
One of the two side rooms as seen from the upstairs area

Another smaller and more recent imambara complex, built in 1824 by the next Nawab of Awadh, includes a burial monument to his daughter and mother nearby. The ceiling of the structure is dripping with glass chandeliers of every size and color, imported from Belgium, which must have been magnificent when lit with candles (no photographs allowed inside). This part of the city is scattered with old structures from a time of high culture and development when, it is at least said by our local guide, there was no friction between the Muslim majority and their Hindu neighbors.  

Chota Imambara
Looking toward the entrance gate from the doorway of the Chota Imambara. Tombs of mother and daughter are on the sides

We visit some old palaces that were abandoned, one only 10 years ago, and are in terminal disrepair now, with broken glass, and crumbing facades.  In fact, in my opinion much of the old city looks like it could be pushed over with little effort.  Bill felt the city was actually working quite well, with traffic lights and festive illumination so it is all relative.

There is a kind of special embroidery work Lucknow is known for, called Chi-kan,  which requires many layers of labor:  weaving of cloth, cutting out of pieces, dying of both fabric and thread, and then the pieces go out to village women to do the actual embroidery.   We pass by the place by the river where some of the pieces are dyed washed and starched.  We go to a Sewa shop (self-employment women’s association) where profits go to the actual women who do the work and I buy 2 pieces, a long one for me to wear at the Kumbh Mela and a short one for a gift.

Drying Chi-Kan Embroidery Pieces

Our evening walk to visit the old Chowk, or marketplace, was an intense immersion into Lucknow’s traditions, commerce and old lifestyle.   On the narrow main street, closed to cars but open to motorcycles, the shops on either side were a bright profusion of colors, textures and smells.  Numbers of shops stocked the materials for Chi-kan work or the edging of related dupatta scarves, jewelry was for sale, a hookah shop (although cigarette smoking seems to be very much reduced on the streets), party decorations, a street of dyes for sale, and of course chai tea and fried food frying in large curved pans whose odor permeates this part of the city.

Hookah Seller
Barbershop
Shops with Standard Wiring Configuration

Our guide takes us into narrow back alleys where we watch the old craft of silver embossed shoes being made as well as wholesale shops with Chi-kan work.  

Traditional silver worker

We walk through the oldest residential area where 3-story houses have watched life go by for over a century in very confined passages.  There are no cars but speeding motorcycles and bicycles made walking very precarious.  The wealthy houses are being somewhat maintained and scattered among them are openings to small Hindu temples, lit from within. 

Hindu temple tucked within old building

However, everywhere, in every small walkway, there were piles of garbage thrown on the ground.  At one point I saw about a pound of green-pea shells outside a house.  I asked our guide why is that happening and he responded that there are government workers who come by in the middle of the night and sweep up the refuse so there is no reason to collect your own debris for disposal.  Earlier, on the road to Lucknow, we stopped at a petrol station for a toilet break and when I came out I had a ball of toilet paper to throw away (there are no trash cans even in most toilet rooms) and our driver, seeing me look for a trash barrel, told me to throw it over the wall onto the ground!   I said no and took it around to the plastic trash can near the gas pumps. 

Alleyway in old Lucknow with motorcycle in distance and the day’s garbage on ground

Even though there may be people being given gainful employment sweeping up other’s refuse, there are still small pieces of paper, snack bag wrappers, plastic bottles and food wrappings everywhere.   I am looking out the window now as we are driving and see garbage which was thrown out of car windows strewn along the side of the road.  But there is hope – we just saw a group of young people at an entrance to a school picking up debris from the ground and Bill mentioned he thought Prime Minister Modi was trying to address this issue.

Next to a restaurant and gas station along the road

We are too tired at night to do anything but eat bananas and cereal in our rooms.