Imambara Sibtainabad- Outcome of a Dethroned King’s Desire to Create Mini Lucknow in Kolkata

Imambara Sibtainabad- Outcome of a Dethroned King’s Desire to Create Mini Lucknow in Kolkata  

By Prof.Mazhar Naqvi

Imambara Sibtainabad in Matiaburj area of Kolkata owes its origin to the ardent desire of the last ruler of Awadh Nawab Wajid Ali Shah to create a mini-Lucknow for himself. After his dethronement, he had left his beloved city with a very heavy heart. His hundreds of wailing and crying supporters had also accompanied him up to Kanpur. They wanted to be part his life in exile but Nawab persuaded them to return to Lucknow on the assurance that his kingdom would be restored to him by British Empire and he will be back to Lucknow soon. But Nawab’s wish to be once again in Lucknow remained unfulfilled and he had to spend last 30 years of his life in Kolkata.

Nawab had sent a retinue of 500 persons by lands route before his own arrival in Kolkata in 1856.His faithful servants had taken a building on a monthly rent of Rs.500 from Raja of Burdwan for him in Garden Reach area but the British authorities confined him to Fort William from where he was released on July 9, 1859.Nawab remained ‘Nazarband’ at Fort due to outbreak of 1857’Mutiny’ that also resulted in the failure of the mission undertaken by his mother for restoration of Awadh kingdom even after her meeting with Queen Victoria in London. The heart broken queen breathed her last on her way back to India in Paris and her son and younger brother of Wajid Ali Shah also  died shortly afterwards. He was also buried close to the grave of her mother in Paris.    

The tragic deaths of his mother and brother propelled Nawab to surrender to his fate. He could easily visualize from the acts of British that he won’t see Lucknow again. Then, he decided to create all what he had inherited and built in Lucknow. His efforts soon developed Matiaburj (Mound of Earth) as a Mini –Lucknow. After residing initially in Burdwan house, Nawab acquired other houses in the vicinity to build Mosque, Imambara, palaces, gardens and even a zoo. . Nawab built ‘Qasrul Buka’ as the first Imambara at Matiaburj and then commissioned another shrine dedicated to martyrs of Karbala in 1864.He christened the new shrine as Imambara Sibtainabad. It was a strange act on his part as he  had already built Imambara Sibtainabad in memory of his father Nawab Amjad Ali Shah in Hazratganj, Lucknow. But Wajid Ali had something else in his mind while selecting a name for new Imambara. By naming it as Sibtainabad he not only kept memory of his father alive in a distant place but also conveyed  his desire to re- erect everything that he had left behind  lost.

Standing on Garden Reach Road with its imposing arched portal surmounted by a Naubatkhana, the Imambara looks like a less ornate miniature model of Asafi (Bara) Imambara in Lucknow. Its  gateway is emblazoned with insignia of the Royal Family of Awadh and paves way to  a marble courtyard facing the prayer hall. A big bronze plate with the royal insignia of Awadh rulers, stained glass windows, massive chandeliers and finely wrought railings adds grace to the interior of Imambara besides indicating a glimpse of Awadh royalty's rich past. It houses opulent tazias from Nawab’s time and they are carried by Muslims and Non- Muslims every year in a Muharram procession that originates from Imambara. The alams and embroidered banners lead the procession that is also joined by Manindra Nath Ghosh's ‘Jau (Barley)-ka Tazia’. This tazia of wheat sprouts grown on a bamboo frame has been a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity for decades.

The Imambara is also the last resting place of Nawab. Though he has been portrayed as a sex-starved man by pro-British historians like William Knighton, he was in fact a devout Muslim who never skipped his prayers. He used to meditate for hours during Muharram mourning and attend Majlises regularly. He breathed his last on one morning on the second day of Muharram in 1887 and laid to rest inside the Imambara built by him like his ancestor Nawab Asaf-Ud- Daula or Badshah Ghazi Uddin Haider who lie buried in the shrines erected by them in Lucknow and famous as  Bara Imambara and Shah Najaf across the globe. Shah's grave is adorned with a silver Zari, an exquisitely embroidered banner with gold and silver thread  and  a priceless pair of jade vases. A silver- and gold-plated over 125 year old  teak tazia  and two big bowls made of ‘Firoza’, a special stone imported from Persia  are among noteworthy  objects that are  kept under lock and key in a room near his grave. Besides Wajid Ali, Imambara also contains the grave of his son, Birjis Qadr, daughter-in-law, Mahtab Ara Begum, a Mughal princess, and several other members of his family.

Imambara also proudly possess a velvet settee that was depicted as the Nawab’s throne in the famous movie ’Shatranj Ke Khiladi’ -Director by legendry Satyajit Ray. He had gifted the settee to Sibtainabad Trust after shooting a few shots for his film. He had also left the material used for creating sets for the film that occupy several rooms of imambara even today.

The existence of Imambara in itself is a miracle, for the British had thrown out all his family members, officials and others from the palaces he had built immediately after his death. They also auctioned his properties and even demolished a number of buildings to erase all traces of Awadh royalty from their capital in India i.e. Calcutta. But they could not muster courage to harm Imambara being aware of Muharram riot of 1779 when an incensed crowd of devotees had pelted stones at the Supreme Court and attacked British officials after they dared to show disrespect to a Tazia procession.