Lucknow

Lucknow: A City of Mourning (“عزاداری” or “Azadari”)
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You would be excused if you thought you were in the holy city of Qom or Mashhad, in Iran while beholding the splendour of the shrines of the city. Honestly, even though I’ve not been to Iran yet, I can totally imagine how the homesick Lucknowi Nawabs would’ve strived to re-create their homeland 3,000km away, right here in the Gangetic heartland.
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Lucknow is deeply influenced by the Shia tradition of Islam, as can be attested by the numerous ‘imambaras’ (a.k.a. Hussaniya/Ashoor Khana, and distinct from a mosque where ‘namaz’ prayers are offered). The Imambara is literally, a place for congregation to mourn Imam Hussain and the martyrs of the battle of Karbala(680 AD, on the question of the succession to the Islamic Caliphate). The city holds the distinction of having re-created the shrines or tombs of all members of Muhammad’s family (“shabi-e-rauza” or buildings consecrated to the holy family), and thus promoting the culture of ‘Azadari’ in the sub-continent. These were built to afford people who could not travel to Iran a chance at “virtually visiting” their favourite shrines (reminds me so much of the controversial ‘Taj Mahal replica’ in Dhaka, Bangladesh).
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The gateways also remind us of how Qaisar Bagh (” gardens for Caesar”) was the walled centre of Nawabi Lucknow. The repeated royal insignia of the two fish and mermaids also hark back to the story of how Nawab Saadat Ali Khan considered them to be an auspicious sign (originally from the Mughal Maahi Maratib medals for honour). They continue to be used by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to this day.
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History has a way of being re-purposed and re-used. It lives in the everyday lives of the man on the cart walking under the grand arches everyday, to the genial old man in the wheelchair who greets every visitor at the Shah Najad Imambara to the gang of young boys playing cricket right next to the graves of their ancestors.