A Gallery by JARIS

Dear friends: There is more about the charming and noble city of Lucknow! Long before the British set their foot on Indian soil, Lucknow had become a part of the Avadh(Oudh)Province in northern India under the Mughal empire. Since the year 1772, it was ruled by the Nawabs for a little less than 100 years. During the time of British rule in India, there were many princely states independently ruled by the Maharajas, Nawabs and the like. However, the British posted an official, known as "The Resident," who resided as a representative of the British Government, with an administrative and military staff, within the boundary of each state, all in "The Residency," as it was called.

At Lucknow,on a scenic hill overlooking the River Gomti, one of the Nawabs constructed the Residency building complex, which completed in 1800. It was occupied by the British Resident and his staff, and with furthur expansion, the campus became an exclusive settlement for the European community.

In 1856, the British India Administration deposed and dethroned the last Nawab, King Wajid Ali Shah,a great and flamboyant monarch with a penchant for poetry, arts, dance and drama, and relieved him of all his belongings,i.e. property, library and its rare volumes, jewellry, and precious exhibits of his museum etc., and deported him and his family to Calcutta (now called, Kolkata). A rebellion among Indian soldiers erupted and turned into a mutiny in and around Avadh and engulfed many parts of India. The Lucknow Residency was beseiged and fierce battles with amunition of that era destroyed a good part of the buildings, the scars of which you will see in the few images presented. Victorious, the British (crown)in 1859 took over India as one of its dominions.

There is a spacious underground chamber(no photographs available)which is dimly lit and where the lofty walls have a few dark spots on the walls, and a folklore exists that they are the blood stains from the time of the mutiny. No faint-of-the-heart would want to enter the "catacomb," but once I was casually left behind alone by a group of visitors I entered with. I was startled by flashing lights on the wall and hearing somebody's whisper in a British accent behind me, but turning my back I saw no one! JARIS

SEE MANY MORE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE RESIDENCY IN MY LUCKNOW- 2012 GALLERIES!