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FACTS
& FIGURES
Built in : 1784
Built by : Nawab Asaf-ud-daula
Location : Lucknow
Bada Imambada
 The Bada Imambada is an important tourist attraction of Lucknow. It was
built by the erstwhile Nawab of Lucknow to provide succor to the famine stricken
people. Though it began as a charitable project, yet the large halls, vaulted
galleries, and an intriguing labyrinth of interconnected passages within it make
it an amazing edifice.
When Asaf-ud-daula moved to Lucknow in 1777, he spent huge sums of money on new buildings to outshine the Mughal splendor. The great Imambada, symbol of Lucknow’s fabulous architectural heritage, was built at a time when a great famine raged through the state in 1784. Hundreds of men and women thronged to the city as utter destitute. Even the rich and noble were reduced to beg for food. Asaf-ud-daula hit upon a novel plan to help the poor. He decided to build the great Imambada and employed some 22,000 people to work day and night. One fourth of the day’s work was demolished at night against payment. Thus, there was enough work. The names of the nobles were called out at night for payments to spare them the indignity of working with the masses. Asaf-ud-daula had a charitable disposition almost to a fault. He would have jewels inserted into muskmelons before distribution among the poor.
The Bada Imambada is, in fact, a great hall built at the end of a spectacular courtyard approached through two magnificent triple-arched gateways. This columnless hall has been an architectural marvel since 1784, with the interior length of 49.4 m and width of 16.2 m. The ceiling is more than 15 m high. The hall is Asia’s largest without any external support of wood, iron, or stone beams. What leaves the visitor astonished is the construction of the roof. It is said to be 16 feet thick and weighs nearly 20,000 tons. One would fail to find out how this amazing work was accomplished without any recourse to known technology: there are no steel girders or beams to uphold the mammoth ceiling.
An ingenious method was employed for building the roof. This immense building is covered with vaults of very simple forms and still simpler construction, being of rubble or coarse concrete of bricks and mud, and allowed to stand a year or two to set and dry. The centering is then removed and the vault, being in one piece, stands without abutment or thrust, apparently a better and more durable form of roof than the most scientific Gothic vaulting. It is certainly far cheaper and easily made, since it is literally cast on mud, from which may be molded into any shape the fancy of the architect may dictate. The Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur and the massive dome of the Taj Mahal were raised on the same kind of brick and rubble centering.
There are, in fact, three halls under the same roof. The Persian Hall is the central hall simply astonishing in proportions. The two adjoining halls are equally great. The China Hall is square at ground level, becomes octagonal at mid-height, and 16 sided at the top. The India Hall has been fashioned like a watermelon. These are only minor structural variations. The roof, common to these halls, is flat and in one piece. The Persian architect, Kifait-ullah supervised this unique architectural extravaganza. The acoustics are equally marvelous. Even the slightest whisper can be heard at the other corner of the hall. Light a matchstick and you can hear the sound across the length of the hall.
On the top terrace, approached through a narrow flight of steps, is an amazing set of passages designed to confuse the most alert minds—a labyrinth of interconnected passages that seem to lead nowhere. This is called bhul bhulaiya (maze), which adds an element of wonder to the construction. There are about 1,000 narrow passages where the air is trapped for cross ventilation. This labyrinth served the important purpose of supporting the thick walls of the Imambada, which, in turn, bore the brunt of the mammoth roof. A visitor who has dispensed with the services of a guide may find it rather embarrassing to lose his way. The terrace gives a grand view of old Lucknow with numerous mosques and minarets on the horizon.
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