Imambaras, Gully Cricket and the Food of Nawabs
Morning in Lucknow
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| India |
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| Uttar Pradesh |
In the morning the air was fresh and clean, the sky clear and Lucknow was looking a far pleasanter prospect.
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| Lucknow, with 7 million inhabitants is the capital of the large and densely populated state of Uttar Pradesh |
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before Sanjay arrived to show us the city.
The Bara Imambara
A short drive brought us to the outer gate of the Bara Imambara. An imambara is a hall used by Shia Muslims for the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet; ‘bara’ just means ‘big’.
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| Outer gate, Bara Imambara, Lucknow |
The Bara Imambara was built by Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh in 1784. As the Moghul Empire weakened, Awadh, in central Uttar Pradesh, was
one of several statelets that achieved de facto independence. Sa'adat Khan set
himself up as the first Nawab in 1722 and Asaf-ud-Daula, the fourth of the
dynasty, moved the capital from Faizabad to Lucknow in 1775.
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| Inner gate, Bara Imambara, Lucknow |
Awadh is noted for its fertility but drought in the early 1780s brought the danger of famine and the building of the Bara Imambara was a ‘workfare’ project for otherwise unemployed farmers and labourers. There is a story that the peasants were paid for building during the day while the nobles spent their nights dismantling their work to make the job last longer. There are many reasons for doubting this story, not least the feeling that even if Asaf-ud-Daula’s generosity was legendary, the same was not necessarily true of the rest of Awadh’s aristocracy.
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| The Bara Imambara, Lucknow |
The Asafi Mosque
The outer and inner gates and the imambara are magnificent, between then the Asafi mosque may be even better.
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| The Asafi Mosque, Bara Imambara, Lucknow |
The Tomb of Asaf-ud-Daula and the Labyrinth
The tomb of Asaf-ud-Daula is inside the imambara hall, allegedly the world’s largest unsupported brick roof.
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| Imambara hall and tomb of Asaf-ud-Daula, Bara Imambara, Lucknow |
On that roof, which is easily reached by a set of stone stairs, is a labyrinth.
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| Rooftop labyrinth, Bara Imambara, Lucknow |
Navigating with assurance, Sanjay led us through the twists and turns to emerge on the balcony of the hall where we amused ourselves with
the acoustics which, like the Whispering Gallery at St Paul's, allow conversations over large distances in quiet voices.
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| On the balcony of the Imambara hall, Lucknow |
Diving back into the labyrinth we re-emerged for the best views over the imambara complex and the city of Lucknow.
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| Looking over the Imambara complex and the city beyond |
The Rumi Darwaza
Imambaras are an extreme example of the Number 9 Bus Phenomenon. I waited sixty-two years for the first to turn up and the second
came along twenty minutes later. But first we had to pass under the Rumi
Darwaza, one of the city gates. Also built in 1784 by Asaf-ud-Daula it is (very
loosely) modelled on the 'Sublime Porte' in Istanbul and is regarded as one of
the finest examples of Awadhi - as opposed to Moghul - architecture. The word
'Rumi' means 'Roman'. The Sublime Porte is actually Ottoman, but a thousand
years earlier Istanbul had been the capital of the eastern Roman Empire, so
anything from Istanbul must be Roman – obviously, duh.
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| The Rumi Darwaza, Lucknow |
The Chhota Imambara
The second imambara, the Chhota Imambara (sometimes called the Husseinabad Imambara) is a little way down the road. It was built in 1838
by the ninth Nawab of Awadh, Muhammad Ali Shah as a tomb for himself and his mother.
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| The Chhota Imambara, Lucknow |
It is a beautiful building, light and almost lacy, standing at the end of a long narrow pool. Supposed replicas of the Taj Mahal stand to right and left of the
pool, housing the tombs of other family members, but they are not good replicas and the ensemble looks ill-matched.
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| The Chhota Imambara and its mosque |
As we walked towards the imambara a mongoose ran across our path, swiftly followed by a second one. Photographs? No chance, they are far too quick for me.
Besides the Nawab's tomb….
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| The tomb of Muhammad Ali Shah, Chhota Imambara, Lucknow |
… the imambara contains his crown, his throne….
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| The throne of Muhammad Ali Shah, Chhota Imambara, Lucknow |
…and any number of chandeliers - he was quite taken by them and built up a fine collection, mostly imported from Belgium. There is also a painted European style portrait. On it, he is labelled ‘King of Oudh’, the title by which the British, with the Anglophone's usual assured handling of foreign languages, knew the Nawabs of Awadh.
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| Several chandeliers, Chhota Imambara, Lucknow |
The River Gomti and the Laundry
A Nawab must have clean clothes, so we drove to the banks of the River Gomti to inspect the city's laundries. Dirty clothes lie in piles….
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| Piles of dirty clothes by the River Gomti, Lucknow |
…. while the dhobi wallahs stand up to their thighs in the river slapping clothing against stones.
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| Dhobi Wallahs in the River Gomti, Lucknow |
Further over some of the clean washing had
been hung up to dry while the rest was laid out on the litter-strewn grass. We
never cease to wonder how it is that clothes washed in dirty water and dried on
dusty ground can be clean, yet somehow the whites gleam and coloureds glow.
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| Washing drying on the dusty, litter-strewn ground, River Gomti, Lucknow |
Gully Circket by the Laundry
There is open ground around the dhobi area and this being India every space was filled with lads playing 'gully’ cricket. Half a dozen
games seemed to be going on, their outfields overlapping in a cheerful
confusion of fielders.
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| Gully cricket by the River Gomti, Lucknow |
Lucknow Market
Satisfied with our inspection we next went to the market.
Nimish
At the entrance a man with a barrow was selling what looked like cream sprinkled with pistachios and coated with silver leaf. Sanjay called it ‘butter cream’ and suggested we should try it. Very soon we had a disposable bowl of pressed leaves, a wooden spoon and a dollop of butter cream. With an already upset stomach Lynne approached it warily, but it was sweet and lovely and slipped down so easily that we had no problem finishing the bowl.
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| Selling nimish, Lucknow market |
[In Rick Stein's India, shown on television a few months later, he called it nimish and bought his from
the same vendor - or at least one on the same spot. I am indebted to his website for the ingredients which, beneath the pistachios and silver
leaf, are double cream, icing sugar, rose water and saffron. The silver has no
culinary purpose, but the food of Lucknow is the food of Nawabs so it must look
opulent.]
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| Eating nimish, Lucknow market |
The Many and Various Market Stalls
We walked on through the narrow streets of the market....
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| Lucknow market |
...passing shops selling wool, perfume,...
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| Perfume shop, Lucknow market |
...kites...
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| Kite shop, Lucknow market |
..and dozens of other things banal and exotic.
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| Selling water pipes, Lucknow market |
We watched a man printing a border pattern on a piece of cloth, hand stamping it with a wooden block. With apparent ease he was, time after time, banging the block down in precisely the right spot to make the pattern smooth and continuous.
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| Hand stamping a pattern, Lucknow market |
We marvelled at his skill and also, though for different reasons, at the electrics. Fires in Indian markets are regularly reported in
the press - and looking at the wiring no one should be surprised.
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| A tangle of wires, Lucknow market |
Shami Kebabs
Eventually we reached the shami kebab stall in the centre of the market. We think of kebabs, and skewers come immediately to mind, but no
skewers are involved with these patties of minced lamb.
I had been unimpressed so far with the food on this trip. All Indian cooking uses spices in great quantity and variety, but with less
skilful chefs everything blurs together to produce a monotonous bludgeon of flavour.
When spicing is skilfully done the spices trip tidily across the palate and
introduce themselves one by one. So it was with the shami kebabs. They would
have been perfect if only the meat had any texture, but it was so soft you
could almost suck it through a straw. [The stall is a Lucknow
institution and Rick Stein ate here too. He filmed the preparation of the
kebabs and has a recipe on his website. He also tells how shami kebabs were, allegedly, invented for a toothless Nawab,
hence the texture.]
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| Shami kebabs, Lucknow market |
The Qaiser Bagh, Nawabs Tombs and Impromptu Cricket
After our break in the laundry and the market it was time to return to the Nawabs.
Asaf-ud-Daula's father had made the fateful decision to accept a 'British Resident' in Awadh. The East India Company's resident first offered
protection, then advice and then more advice until gradually, after many years, he
became the true ruler - while always deferring to the Nawab in public. The frustration this caused came to boiling
point in 1857, a date which will feature in the next post.
Asaf-ud-Daula, died in 1797, and was succeeded by his son Wazir Ali Khan. Wazir Ali Khan proved to be too independently minded for
British tastes and was removed from power in 1798, the pretext being that he
was not actually the son of Asaf-ud-Daula. The pretext may actually have been
true, Asaf-ud-Daula preferred the company of young men and there are doubts
that his marriage was ever consummated.
Asaf-ud-Daula's brother was crowned Sa'adat Ali Khan II by Sir Peter Shore, the East India Company's Governor General of India, and became the Wazir Nawab of Awadh, or King of Oudh, if you prefer.
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| Tomb of Sa'adat Ali Khan II, Lucknow |
Although compliant to British desires, he was regarded as a good ruler and an indefatigable builder, being responsible for most of the buildings
between the Qaiser Bagh and Dilkusha (see next post). He and his queen are buried in twin tombs in the Qaiser Bagh built by their son, Ghazi-ud-din.
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| Disinterested guardian, tomb of Sa'adat Ali Khan II, Lucknow |
The Qaiser Bagh is a pleasant garden, but the tombs have a sad and neglected air, their guardians showing no inclination to open them up
for visitors. Like any green space in an Indian city the Qaiser Bagh was hosting
any number of impromptu games of cricket. Centre picture, in front of the tomb
of the queen, players cluster round after a batsman has been out, while on the
right the fielder in another game is about to throw the ball in and on the
left two fielders in yet another game move in as the ball is bowled.
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| Three games of cricket outside the tomb of Sa'adat Ali Khan's queen |
Sa'adat Ali Khan died at the age of 48 and was succeeded by his son Ghazi-ud-din who ruled for thirteen years before being succeeded by his
son, Nasir-ud-din. The new monarch was more interested in wine, women and
astrology than government and was murdered in 1827. The widow of Ghazi-ud-din
tried to put a man called Muna Jan on the throne, but was opposed by the rest
of the Awadh royal family and, perhaps more importantly, the British.
A palace used to sit just over the road from the tomb of Sa'adat Ali Khan. Only a library and wedding hall remain, and it was in this
hall that the British kidnapped the widow and Muna Jan.
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| Wedding hall, scene of the 1827 kidnapping |
Instead, Muhammad Ali Shah, a brother of Ghazi-ud-din, was put on the throne. He was an able ruler though he died only five years later.
He did, though, have time to build himself a fine tomb, the Chhota Imambara,
which we had seen earlier in the morning.
Lunch in Coffee Day and an Afternoon Walk
It had been a long morning by the time Sanjay dropped us back at the hotel, his day's work over. We did not linger in the hotel but walked
up to the Coffee Day café at the end of the street. Offering air-conditioning,
comfortable chairs and reasonable coffee, it was a good place for a lunchtime
snack. It was also, we discovered the place to see and by seen for a
predominantly well-off youthful clientele.
Lynne's chocolate brownie was probably better than my chicken sandwich which was under spiced (and this in India!), but the young
staff were helpful and friendly and it proved a pleasant place to sit and wile away an hour.
We took a walk in the afternoon, starting with St Joseph's Catholic cathedral. It is certainly a striking building but after giving it due
and careful consideration I came to the conclusion it is dire.
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| St Joseph, Cathedral, Lucknow |
There is always plenty to see walking about any Indian city. At one point we found ourselves engulfed by a horde of children leaving a posh
school. All with immaculate uniforms they set off home on foot or bicycle, in
parental cars or crammed into crowded tuk-tuks. And wherever we went there were
always dozens of bicycle rickshaw drivers keen to offer us a lift.
An Excellant Gosht Mughlai at the Royal Café
In the evening we went to the Royal Café, a restaurant not far away in Hazratganj that had been recommended by Sanjay. It was a good
choice. Lynne was not up to eating but watched as I ordered Gosht Mughlai
(Mughal style mutton - ie goat). Apart from the shami kebab (which was only a
snack) I had not eaten a really good meal since the garlic chicken in Delhi
over a week before, nor had I eaten any meat; these facts may or may not be
connected. As with the shami kebabs the spicing was expertly done but the big
chunks of tender, flavoursome meat meant this also had texture. It was as good
as the garlic chicken, which made it the joint best meal of the trip so far.
Having done so well with the main course, I ventured a dessert. Lynne described it as an upside down trifle. I would describe as a
delight, and anyway I am not sure whether a trifle actually has an upside.
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| Upside down trifle? Royal Café, Lucknow I have no excuse for the demonic grin. |
And Finally...
Lucknow has its share of persistent beggars, but on the way back Lynne dropped a 2 rupee coin into the cup of an old man who was sitting
quietly and patiently in hope rather than expectation. He looked up, smiled and
said, 'Thank you, very kind.'
We passed a toy shop selling games, action figures and model vehicles. What drew out eye was not the stock but the soldier making a purchase, a sub-machine gun slung over his shoulder.
Part 1 Delhi (1) Mainly Old Delhi but Some New Delhi too
Part 2 Delhi (2) Some Old Things around New Delhi
Part 3 To Mughal Sarai and Sarnath
Part 4 Varanasi
Part 5 Allahabad and the Kumbh Mela
Part 6 Allahabad (2) A Bit of Foot-slogging
Part 7 Lucknow (1) City of Nawabs
Part 8 Lucknow (2) La Martinière College and the British Residency
Part 9 Agra and the Taj Mahal
Part 10 Fatehpur Sikri
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