I erased it a hundred times before I thought that I should write about how I wrote .There is so much to do when you write a book at the age of thirteen , and ofcourse the possibilities of a successful outcome decrease when you have only 4 days for the completion .But you know after a certain age when a lot of time has passed , you tend to miss those moments , which were though tiring but fun , times you spent banging your head on the wall about what to do and what not to , or pressing your head into the pillow to hide the tears of fear , or thinking that a minor failure is the end of the world .Each one of us has gone through these feelings , which make memories ,which make life.
Well , while thinking about writing the history of Imambara , I became a bit reminiscential , thinking about times of delight and amazement , my memories held me and wrote through my hands everything written above . So I won’t credit myself for the above lines , however they are . Moreover , I find thoughts put to paper more interesting than history , so to make the history of Imambara interesting I thought not to erase the above paragraph for the hundred and first time and write it again.
A least known fact , which is quiet absorbing is that during the reign of Nawab Asaf -ud – daula (1748-97) a famine struck the city in 1783 , and the Bada Imambara along with other monuments was used to generate employement .The grandiose building , during the day time , was constructed by a set of ordinary people and the raised structure was broken at night by the noblemen and other elite .This relief measure taken by Asaf – ud –daula gave birth to a famous anecdote
“JISKO NA DE MAULA , USKO DE ASAF UD DAULA”
For me, writing about the Imambara was most fascinating , because not even one of the many facts about it can be called non-fascinating. As we proceed into the ‘BHUL-BHULAIYA ‘ another enthralling piece of information bangs the 489 doors of the interconnecting passages of the three dimensional , possibly the only existing , labyrinth of India .To add to the sound of the bangs , below the labyrinth lies the main Imambara consisting of a large vaulted central chamber ,containing the tomb of Asaf-ud-Daula (50 by 16 meters) , the height of the tomb is 15 meters . It has no beams to support the ceiling, and is one of the largest arched constructions in the world. There are eight surrounding chambers built to different roof heights , the labyrinth came about unintentionally to support the weight of the building, constructed on a marshy land . The echo of the thumps increase as I further write about the architect Kifayatuallah , who was chosen to construct the building by a competitive exam. His body lies buried in the main hall of the Imambara beside that of Asaf- ud – daula further adding to the echoes , because it is a unique fact that the body of the sponsor and the architect lie buried side by side .Now the sound of the battering becomes faint , because we move away from the labyrinth , outside the Imambara , where Asaf-ud-Daula erected an 18-m high Rumi Darwaza . This portal, embellished with lavish decorations, was the Imambara's west facing entrance. Time to put on the ear plugs again, as we go inside to know about the blocked secret tunnels . One of them , according to legends, leads through a mile-long underground passage, to a location near the Gomti river .Other passages are rumoured to lead to Faizabad (the former seat of power of the Nawabs), Allahabad and even to Delhi. They exist but have been sealed after a period of long misuse as well as out of fear of disappearance of the people who purportedly went missing while exploring.
Feeling enlightened ? Atleast I am !
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