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Search275,000+ actors, artists, objects, artworks, films, exhibitions, archives

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Lucknow

Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh

Location.Architectural Heritage Site
Contents
Introduction
Body of Work13
Research Centre119
Posts1
Calendar1
Home/5_ArcHeritage/Location/Lucknow
Lucknow — featured artwork

Introduction

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Lucknow
Bara Imambara
The Residency
La Martiniere College

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    Map data ©2026
    Map data ©2026
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    Geographical details

    StateUttar Pradesh
    CapitalYes
    Longitude80.9462' E
    Latitude26.8467' N
    Population35,00,000
    Area632 sq. km.
    LanguagesAwadhi, Hindi, Urdu
    RiversGomati River (Tributary of Ganga)
    LakesKathuata jheel, Butler lake, Ghanta ghar talab
    Linked citiesKolkata, Mumbai, Chennai
    Map of Uttar Pradesh
    Uttar Pradesh

    Spoken languages

    Show figures
    Spoken languages
    Category200120112021
    Hindi9,00,0009,00,0009,00,000
    Awadhi8,50,0008,50,0008,50,000
    Urdu40,00040,00040,000

    Population by gender

    Show figures
    Population by gender
    Category20012011
    Male19,32,31723,94,476
    Female17,15,51721,95,362
    Other191504

    Population by religion

    Show figures
    Population by religion
    Category20012011
    Hindu21,81,78535,37,787
    Muslim5,43,0459,85,070
    Christian13,15520,493
    Buddhist19,68823,883
    Sikh2,8163,877
    Jain2,0514,975
    Other26113,753

    Architectural Landmarks

    15
    Bara Imambara
    Bara Imambara1784
    The Residency
    The Residency1800
    La Martiniere College
    La Martiniere College1800
    Chhatar Manzil
    Chhatar Manzil1781
    Hussainabad Clock Tower
    Hussainabad Clock Tower1881
    Gateway Of Bara Imambara
    Gateway Of Bara Imambara1785
    Rumi Darwaza
    Rumi Darwaza1784
    All Saints Garrison Church
    All Saints Garrison Church1913
    King Georges Medical College
    King Georges Medical College1905
    Asafi Masjid
    Asafi Masjid1784
    Moti Mahal
    Moti Mahal1814
    QR
    Qadam Rasul
    BK
    Bibiapur Kothi
    Dilkhusha Palace
    Dilkhusha Palace1805
    Shah Najaf Imambara
    Shah Najaf Imambara1816

    Body of Work

    Chhatar Manzil, 1781
    Chhatar Manzil, 1781
    Rumi Darwaza, 1784
    Rumi Darwaza, 1784
    Asafi Masjid, 1784
    Asafi Masjid, 1784
    Bara Imambara, 1784
    Bara Imambara, 1784
    Gateway of Bara Imambara, 1785
    Gateway of Bara Imambara, 1785
    The Residency, 1800
    The Residency, 1800
    La Martiniere College, 1800
    La Martiniere College, 1800
    Dilkhusha Palace, 1805
    Dilkhusha Palace, 1805
    Moti Mahal, 1814
    Moti Mahal, 1814
    Shah Najaf Imambara, 1816
    Shah Najaf Imambara, 1816
    Hussainabad Clock Tower, 1881
    Hussainabad Clock Tower, 1881
    King George's Medical College, 1905
    King George's Medical College, 1905
    All Saints Garrison Church, 1913
    All Saints Garrison Church, 1913

    Research Centre

    Posts 1

    1. Colonel Mordaunt's Cockfight
      Colonel Mordaunt's Cockfight
      Cockfights were a popular sport in India and other parts of the world in the late eighteenth-century. In 1786, the then Governor-General of India Warren Hastings commissioned German-born artist Johann Zoffany to paint the historic cockfight that had many British East India Company employees and Indian royalties in attendance. Several versions of the painting have thus been made and depicted in various mediums over the course of more than two centuries, including the cock-fight scene in Satyajit Ray's 1977 film Shatranj Ke Khilari.
      1_CinemaEducation2_FineArts4_PopCulture6_EconomicsArt
      Shatranj Ke KhilariSatyajit RayLucknowNemai Ghosh
      Read Post →

    Calendar 1

    View All →
    1. Self Discover via Rediscovering India Series Part III History of Photography in India
      ArchivedExhibitionProject 3
      Self Discover via Rediscovering India Series Part III History of Photography in India
      21st - 31st January 2025
      Self Discover via Rediscovering India Series Part III
      Read More →
      3_Photography·Select Highlights From The History Of Photography In India 22 January 1 February 2025 Project 3 Cal
      +28 more

    Related

    7

    Personalities

    6

    Ebrahim Alkazi
    Ebrahim AlkaziComparable Artworks
    Felice Beato
    Felice BeatoComparable Artworks
    Nemai Ghosh
    Nemai GhoshComparable Artworks
    Samuel Bourne
    Samuel BourneComparable Artworks
    Satyajit Ray
    Satyajit RayComparable Artworks
    Soumendu Roy
    Soumendu RoyComparable Artworks

    Films

    1

    Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977)Shooting Location
    Tuli Research Centre for India Studies

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    © Tuli Research Centre for India Studies 2026

    Tuli Research Centre for India Studies

    Tuli Research Centre

    for India Studies

    A free and open knowledge base for the modern and contemporary Indian arts, cinema, photography and cultural heritage.

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                            Bara Imambara
                            1 / 9
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                            Bara Imambara

                            Patron
                            1. Commissioned by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. 2. Moheb-ullah and Kefait-ullah, father and son, were the architects.
                            Architectural style
                            Nawabi Awadh
                            Structure
                            1. Rectangular plan divided into nine chambers. 2. The central chamber is the largest and measures 164 feet by 52 feet (50 by 16 meters) and is over 49 feet (15 meters) high. 3. The eight chambers surrounding the central bay are smaller in both area and height and are more for circulatory purpose. 4. The long central chamber has a concrete vault. 5. Remaining bays are treated in a variety of roofing techniques. 6. The arched roof of the central vault is built without beams, making it one of the largest concrete shells in the world. 7. The gateway on the northen side of the enclosure wall is a rectangular edifice penetrated by three foliated arches, whose spandrels bear the fish motif and which are summoned by a row of tiny chattris on the roofline. The arches descend onto three levels of oriel windows, whose presence suggests that the gateway may have been an answering ornamental one.
                            Layout
                            1. The Imambara has three interlocked forecourts, each with numerous imposing gateways, and a main court containing such notable buildings as the Asafi Masjid and Baoli. 2. The numerous openings, however, have made it possible to create a unique feature in the form of a labyrinth. The imambara is popular amongst its visitors for the 'Bhool Bhooliya' or labyrinth that is formed by the many balconies and passages that branch off from 489 identical doorways. 3. The central chamber contains the grave of Nawab Asaf al-Daula 4. Only imambara that has six entrances into the central bay as opposed to the conventional five.
                            Materials
                            1. Brick and mortar structure. 2. Finials made of green glazed ware.
                            Event
                            It is used for ceremonies performed by Shia muslims to commemorate the death of Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, at Karbala in 680 AD.
                            Status
                            Archeological Survey of India, Centrally Protected
                            The Bara Imambara is a monument of central importance in the evolution of Nawabi architecture, as it led to the widespread adaptation of an imambara type. Imambara is typically a building in which are conducted the ceremony of Muharram; and at other times Tazias and Shrines are preserved in it. Built in 1784, Bara Imambaea is a colossal building which lies directly south of Lakshman Tila, west of the former Machi Bhavan, and roughly north of Chauk. The main part of the building, the first floor is reached by a broad but steep flight of steps on the eastern flank of the building and is composed of narrow, low-ceilinged galleries and vaulted passageways. Many of these passageways have been blocked and the interiors are dark thus providing an air of mysteriousness and have come traditionally to be associated as a maze. In fact, these were never intended to be a maze at all.

                            Related Artworks7

                            Antiquarian Photograph3
                            Felice Beato (Photographer), Mosque inside Asophood Dowlah's Imaumbara, now used as a Hospital, Lucknow, 1858, Antiquarian Photograph
                            Beato, Felice (Photographer). Mosque inside Asophood Dowlah's Imaumbara, now used as a Hospital, Lucknow, March-April 1858 | Antiquarian Photograph
                            Felice Beato (Photographer), The great Imaumbara used as a Magazine, Lucknow, 1858, Antiquarian Photograph
                            Beato, Felice (Photographer). The great Imaumbara used as a Magazine, Lucknow, March-April 1858 | Antiquarian Photograph
                            Studio V. & E. Pont (Photographic Studio), Great Mosque inside Imambara, Lucknow, 1870, Antiquarian Photograph
                            Studio V. & E. Pont (Photographic Studio). Great Mosque inside Imambara, Lucknow, c.1870 | Antiquarian Photograph
                            Contemporary Photograph4
                            Unknown (Photographer), Bara Imambara, Contemporary Photograph
                            Unknown (Photographer). Bara Imambara, n.d. | Contemporary Photograph
                            Unknown (Photographer), Bara Imambara, Contemporary Photograph
                            Unknown (Photographer). Bara Imambara, n.d. | Contemporary Photograph
                            Unknown (Photographer), Bara Imambara, Contemporary Photograph
                            Unknown (Photographer). Bara Imambara, n.d. | Contemporary Photograph
                            Unknown (Photographer), Bara Imambara, Contemporary Photograph
                            Unknown (Photographer). Bara Imambara, n.d. | Contemporary Photograph