Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh:

Asfi Mosque and courtyard from the roof of the Bara Imambara

One week after my return from Pune, I left Jaipur again to visit a colleague in Lucknow in order to discuss some projects as well as give a presentation on my research.

Following work, two students took me on a tour to the city’s major sights. We started at the fantastic Bara Imambara, a shrine or congregation hall containing the grave of Asaf ud-Daula, the Nawab of Oudh (=Awadh) from 1775 to 1797. In addition to the hall, the complex includes the majestic Asfi Mosque and a deep step well. Possibly the most famous feature of the Bara Imambara is its labyrinth, a maze of narrow corridors in the roof of the central hall, but similarly spectacular are the views from the roof. Afterwards, we visited the smaller Chota Imambara, the Picture Gallery with life-sized portraits of the Nawabs of Oudh, and the nearby Clock Tower, with 67 m the tallest of its kind in India. The final stop of the day was the Residency, where the so-called Siege of Lucknow happened during the First War of Independence in 1857 (alternatively called Indian Rebellion, Sepoy Mutiny, Uprising etc.).

City Palace & Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

Jaipur city centre from the plane

City Palace & Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

entrance gate to the Bara Imambara complex

entrance gate to the Bara Imambara complex

decorations on the entrance gate

Asfi Mosque

panorama of Bara Imambara and Asfi Mosque

inside the Bara Imambara

view back to the entrance gate

Asfi Mosque

Asfi Mosque

on the roof of the Bara Imambara

on the roof of the Bara Imambara

on the roof of the Bara Imambara

Clock Tower

Clock Tower

Jama Masjid

Jama Masjid

Tila Wali Masjid

view into the courtyard

Asfi Mosque from the roof of the Bara Imambara

panoramic view from the roof of the Bara Imambara

Asfi Mosque

panoramic view from the roof of the Bara Imambara

in the labyrinth

central hall of the Bara Imambara

central hall of the Bara Imambara

the step well

the step well

the step well

the step well

the step well

on the road outside the Bara Imambara

on the road

Chota Imambara

Tomb of Princess Zinat Algiya

panoramic view

inside the Chota Imambara

inside the Chota Imambara

ornamentations

ornamentations

Chota Imambara complex

Treasury

Chota Imambara

ornament

entrance gate to the Chota Imambara

entrance gate to the Chota Imambara

on the road outside the Chota Imambara

on the road outside the Chota Imambara

on the road outside the Chota Imambara

on the road outside the Chota Imambara

Picture Gallery

Picture Gallery

Clock Tower

bullet holes in a building of the Residency

bullet holes in a building of the Residency

the Residency

museum in the Residency complex

cannons

cannons

cannons

ruins of the Residency

monuments at the graveyard

inscription

graves

grave of Sir Henry Lawrence

“who tried to do his duty”

graves

ruins of the church

the Residency

After a couple of enjoyable days in Lucknow, I joined my colleague for a short trip to the University of Gorakhpur where I could visit nearby Kushinagar, one of most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites.