The Bara Imambara (big shrine) of Lucknow is Mughal architecture at its peak. Built under the patronage of the fourth Nawab of Lucknow, Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula, the Imambara is not only a visual treat but also its great halls have many stories to tell.
It was designed by the architect Kifayatullah, said to be a relative of the architect of the Taj, in 1784. It took 11 years to complete and was ready in 1795. Kifayatullah was later buried in the main hall of the Imambara.
The Imambara is an engineering marvel, with its large vaulted central hall (50 m long,16 m wide) having its ceiling 15 m above the ground with no outside support of beams or pillars. It is one of the largest such structures in the world. The tomb of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula is in this hall.
In between the three halls of the Imambara is a dense, dark maze called the Bhul Bhulaiya. The network of more than 1000 labyrinthine passages interconnecting through 489 identical doorways came about unintentionally to support the weight of the building which is constructed on marshy land.
Adjacent to the Bara Imambara is the Rumi Darwaza, also built in the same period under the patronage of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. The 60-feet tall doorway once served as the entrance to Lucknow, the city of Nawabs.
The Asafi Imambara, as it is also known, also includes within the complex the Asfi mosque.
As much as it is a shrine, the Bara Imambara was also an effort to stave off starvation. During 18th century, a devastating famine struck the Awadh Estate and the Nawab saw construction as a way to provide employment.
It is said that after workers laboured through the day to build it up, the nobility pulled down what was built at night, ensuring that the construction outlasted the famine.
Estimated cost of building the Imambara ranged between half a million rupees to a million rupees.