Lucknow’s cosmopolitan canvas

After taking over as the Nawab of Awadh, Asaf-ud-Daulah desired autonomy over his legacy, but he couldn’t because of his domineering mother (Bahu Begum) and an equally controlling grandmother (Nawab Begum). In the tug of war, Asaf-ud-Daulah took a leap of faith and shifted Awadh’s capital from Faizabad to Lucknow. Through Lucknow, probably the Nawab wanted to create a distinct identity for himself, and the Lucknow of his imagination was to hold a signature of his will and whim.This was how Lucknow’s unique architectural identity was born.

Different versions and descriptions suggest that Lucknow was included in the Mughal empire by Humayun in 1526. It fell briefly into the hands of the Afghans when the Mughals were busy in a battle against Rana Sanga. Babur re-occupied Lucknow in March 1528 and visited the city next year.
Baburnama, in particular, speaks of the political and strategic importance of Lucknow. Naturally, the early buildings of Lucknow had a clear Mughal influence. The Akbari Darwaza (tentative 1556-1605 AD) was one of the early Mughal structures in Lucknow. In fact, almost 200 years before Lucknow got its iconic Rumi Darwaza, the Akbari Darwaza was a landmark of the city.
Built by Miyan Qazi Mahmud Bilgrami for Jawahar Khan (the subedar of Awadh), the Darwaza was to welcome Akbar who was expected to visit Lucknow at that time. Though there are not enough records to establish if Akbar visited Lucknow or not, the Akbari Darwaza shares some features with the gateways at Fatehpur Sikri.
The Nadan Mahal that came up during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605) and Jahangir (1605-1627) showcased the grandeur of Mughal architecture. It started as a ‘sarai’ (or inn) but later went out to become the mausoleum of Akbar’s aide Shaikh Abdur Rahim.
According to legends, astrologers had forewarned Akbar of the threat to his life on two inauspicious days and advised him to temporarily cede the throne to his trusted ally – Abdur Rahim. As fate would have it, a cobra was discovered in the imperial robes, mere seconds before the perilous period elapsed. The word Nadan is said to have come from the Hindi word ‘nidan’, meaning deliverance (from problem) due to the charitable works undertaken by Rahim’s wife in the compound where later his tomb was also made. Author PC Sarkar noted that Shaikh also built the Panch Mahalla palace complex in the late 1590s as a symbol of Akbar’s consideration towards him.
“When Burhan-ul-Mulk Saadat Khan (1722-39) was made the Nawab Vazir of Awadh, he rented the complex from the Sheikhzadas for official work. His successor and son-in-law Safdar Jung (1739-54) assumed ownership of the complex. The twin fish symbol started appearing from his time onwards, hence the term Machhi Bhavan,” he says. In various references, Panch Mahalla or Machhi Bhavan has been described as a walled fortress – classical to those built in Mughal times – that also housed Mubaraq Mahal along with a Naubat Khana. Sarkar revealed that Asaf-ud-Daula may be credited for shifting the capital to Lucknow and making it glamorous, but his father Shuja-ud-Daula had already converted the Machhi Bhavan citadel to a palace complex. The structure was razed during the Uprising of 1857.

It is quite expected that Asaf-ud-Daulah’s leap for himself and Lucknow was greeted by Mughal legacy.
“The buildings must have borne the influence of Mughal architecture which could have been a ready template for whatever was built in those days by local taluqdars as evident from buildings of those times. But shifting the capital was a big move. The Nawab’s desire to build a fresh and superimposing identity for himself crafted Lucknow’s architecture,” says conservation architect Nishant Upadhyay. The task began by contouring the city and building a home for the Nawab called Asafi Kothi in the Sheesh Mahal complex, not far from the Machhi Bhavan Fort while the city grew parallel to the Gomti with Musa Bagh at the northern end and Kothi Bibiapur as the southern limit.
“He also built the Asafi Imambara, the Rumi Darwaza and the Juma Masjid. In due course, Nawab’s desire found roots in architect Kifayatullah’s layout of the Imambara which eventually became a signature of the Nawabi architecture. The duo also built the Rumi Darwaza that till date speaks for the iconic identity of Lucknow,” says Nishant. Kifayatullah, who was engaged by the Nawab after a competitive process, was based in Delhi and represented the Mughal school of architecture who could have mingled elements from his homeland Iran. It is said that he was aware of Turkish architecture.
All buildings built under his guidance used the Mughal style as the base but played with the material keeping in mind the location (along the riverbed) and the design. Since the rulers were Shia Muslims from Persia, the influence was another constant. Turkish and Iranian elements were mingled to ornate the buildings. Since the Nawabs had limited money, ornamentation was done cost-effectively which paved the way for lime stucco work in place of the Mughal style stone carved stucco.

Almost a decade before Asaf-ud-Daulah was appointed the Nawab of Awadh in 1776, Frenchman Claude Martin was serving in the East India Company. In the year when Nawab moved his capital to Lucknow, Martin was an established mercenary, an established banker and investor besides being a regular creditor to the Nawab. Martin, who had travelled to many parts of India, chose Lucknow to settle down.
Accordingly, he made way to the Royal Court and by 1781, built a home for himself. The building that was compared to Chateau de Lyon (in France), was a specimen of the ornate baroque style of architecture popular in Europe in those days. After Martin’s death in 1800, the then Nawab Saadat Ali Khan purchased it and named it Kothi Farhat Baksha. Alongside, Martin started building a country house called the Constantia which later came to be known as the La Martiniere in the French Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles that remains a treat to all.
Its elaborate archways and intricate details exude grandeur while marvellous bas-reliefs and Italian style ornamentation add a totally different dimension to Lucknow’s architectural identity. As Claude Martin became important in Lucknow, the city’s architecture embraced Neo-classical and Georgian Palladianism elements in buildings like Bibiapur Kothi (Antoine Polier) and Musa Bagh (Claude Martin).
References are that the site of the British Residency in Lucknow belonged to Claude Martin who had purchased it from one of the ‘Sheikhzadas’. Later, he built several houses (later included in the Residency Complex) and sold them to British natives. Martin remained relevant in the times of Saadat Ali Khan (1798-1814), the successor to Asaf-ud-Daulah. He built the Chhatar Manzil besides finishing the second leg of the La Martiniere.

The Nawabs may also be credited for what is known as hybrid architecture. The seeds of this form were sown in Faizabad when Asaf-ud-Daulah’s father Shuja-ud-Daulah took the services of French engineer Antoine Polier. “The typical Tripolia gates with embellishments which would appear throughout Nawabi rule appear to be an outcome of this union,” says Sarkar. When Asaf-ud-daulah was made the Nawab, he included Antoine Polier in his court. Claude Martin was also known to Polier. When Lucknow was made the capital, the fusion architecture followed. The later Nawabs continued to build new structures, which fortified the Lakhnavi hybridized genre. Nawab Saadat Ali Khan undertook Dilkusha project which was an adaptation from buildings in Seaton Delaval in Northumberland County of north England built in the 1720s.
Likewise, the Roshan-ud-Daulah Kothi mingled Indo-French architecture. Also known as Kaiser Pasand, it was the residence of Nawab Roshan-ud-Daulah, the chief minister of Nasir-ud-Din Haider (1827-37). A look at the building from the front shows the European element of crown and pediment alongside Islamic domes. Cornices, portico, composite columns, louvered doors and windows, floral and geometric patterns as in La Martiniere were some elements that created a hybrid beauty. King Mohd Ali Shah (1837-1842) built the Hussainabad Imambara (or Chhota Imambara) which integrated Indo-Islamic architecture. Even Kaiser Bagh Palace built by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah mingled Indo-European styles. The use of crowns, domes, and cornices are all elements of European schools of architecture. The same impressions may be gathered from Sikandar Bagh – the home of his queen Sikandar Pasand.

Several buildings were bruised during the Uprising of 1857. The long list included Machhi Bhavan, Musa Bagh, Dilkusha, Sikandar Bagh and Kaiser Bagh Palace, among others. Structures that came thereafter were meant to suit the needs of the British. For instance, the St Joseph’s Cathedral and Christ Church were built in 1860. Both the structures bore the pure Gothic style of architecture. Two years later, the All-Saints Garrison Church in the Cantonment area came up. Inspired by the Magdalen College of Oxford, it was made for the convenience of the British believers.
Likewise, the Loreto Convent came up in 1872 while the Emma Thompson School was built in 1879. In 1885, the Saint Francis School and Orphanage was built alongside the Cathedral School. The commonality in these buildings and their association with the European style is anybody’s guess. The first notable construction post-1857 for the natives was the Canning College. Though the foundation stone was laid in 1867, it took over 11 years for the building to get completed. It was inaugurated by the then Lieutenant Commissioner of Awadh, George Couper, in 1878.
The next building to come up was the Hussainabad Clock Tower in 1887. Considered to be a finest example of Indo-Saracenic architecture with clear Gothic Victorian style features, the clock was made to mark the elevation of George Couper as the first Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces (Agra and Awadh). Thereafter, the foundation of the King George’s Medical College was laid in 1905 on the premises of the erstwhile Machhi Bhavan. Though the academic session started in 1911, the college building was inaugurated in 1912 with a fine administrative block, an anatomical block, a combined pathological and physiological block and a medico-legal department. The hospital and OPD unit followed next.
Architects are of the view that the British followed two kinds of approaches for building new structures in the city. While buildings to be used by the natives were to be aligned with Indo-Saracenic style, the ones to be used by them were built in the appropriate European style. In 1920, the British moved their administrative centre from Allahabad to Lucknow to quell the nationalist activities in the city which had been a nerve centre of the uprising in 1857. In Dec 1922, the British govt began construction of the Council House where the present-day Vidhan Bhavan stands in Indo-European Gothic style.Government buildings that came up after the formation of the Lucknow Endowment Trust carried neo-classical and Lutyens elements.