Bada Imambara - The Monument constructed as a famine relief measure

Jisko na de maula, usko de nawab Asaf-ud-Daula - English translation as "He who does not receive (livelihood) from the Lord, will receive it from Asaf-ud-Daula."

The above saying is attributed to Nawab Asaf-Ud-Daula, the 4th nawab of Awadh, for his unique famine relief measure in the city of Lucknow in the decade of 1780. The province of Awadh (modern day Central and Eastern Uttar Pradesh) was one of the richest Mughal provinces due to the fertile plains between the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. In 1784, though there was a severe drought which went on to last for 10 years.

Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula

To curb the loss of income from farming, the Nawab wanted to ensure that employment is provided to every person for his fair share of labour. The only measure to provide employment to maximum people was to build a monument.

Thus the construction of the Bada Imambara or Big Imambara was started in 1784. This was a unique monument in the sense it was neither a Mosque nor a Mausoleum. Rather it would go on to serve both the purposes.

Note - The Nawabs of Awadh were Shia rulers, hence the term Imambara was used to signify places of Azadari or where the mourning was conducted during Muharram.

Once the construction of Imambara was started, there were 2 unique problems for the Nawab - 

1. The situation of the famine and the drought appeared to persist for many more years to come.How do you ensure that employment is provided for all these years.
2. The drought appeared to affect the peasants and the nobility. Even the nobles were being reduced to penury. 

In the days of the Nawab, the nobility had a level of pride and would not do any labour work as it was below their esteem. These feudal lords earned from tax on farming lands assigned to them. With the drought prevailing, there was no farming and no income for the nobles also.Now what does the Nawab do to ensure the nobility are also paid fairly for their share of labour.

Asaf-Ud-Daula devised a unique solution to both these problems. He ordered that the common peasants would work on the construction of the Imambara during the day while the nobility would work in the night to destroy as much as they could of the construction.

This unique method helped a great deal in solving the famine situation of the time.

1. Since the nobles worked at night, their labour would not be visible to the peasants and thus their prestige and esteem were maintained.
2. The constant construction and destruction of the Imambara ensured that rate of construction was slow and hence there would be continuous employment.

The famine lasted 10 years and the Imambara took 11 years to build. During those 10 years, people of Awadh were able to survive thanks to the ingenuity of the Nawab. The people considered that the Nawab provided them with livelihood when even god could not. Hence in gratitude, the saying came to be - Jisko na de maula, usko de nawab Asaf-ud-Daula.

The Imambara building

The Imambara is not just a prayer hall but an architectural wonder. Some of its unique features are:

1) The main hall was meant for prayer and hence the nawab did not want any pillar to obstruct people. The main hall at 50 by 16 meters and over 15 meters tall, is the world's longest room built without the use of steel or wooden beams. It stands completely by the use of interlocking bricks.

The main hall of the Imambara with Asaf-ud-Daula's grave in center

2) To support such a massive ceiling, a unique labyrinth of passages was designed. This maze above the main hall is called Bhul Bhulaiyyan or the lost maze. Each passage leads to 3 more passages which in turn lead to another 3. Once can easily get lost in this maze and hence use of a authorized guide is recommended to navigate the maze.
3) Asaf-Ud-Daula and his wife are buried in simple graves in the middle of the prayer hall. Being a staunch Shia, he had ordered that his grave be kept simple without any carvings or elaborate decoration.
4) The complex also has the Asafi mosque and a stepped well or the Baoli. This baoli was the source of water to the complex and also had tunnels to link it to the river Gomti. The baoli complex has 7 floors with 4 under the water and 3 above. It was rumoured that the Nawab hid his treasure in the depths of the Baoli and for years the British tried to drain the well to get the treasure, but were unable to do so.

The StepWell or Baoli in the Imambara complex

- Suyash Nigam