Heritage patriots walk through echelons of city’s history

Lucknow: Wearing caps and sunglasses and carrying water bottles to guard against hot and humid weather, around 50 participants gathered at 7 am on Sunday to join Heritage Walk to the Residency.

The event was organised by Lucknow Heritage Walks.It was led by heritage enthusiasts Atif Anzar and A K Srivastava, who shared lesser-known facts and historical details linked to the Residency complex, native houses, cemetery and Begum Kothi.Participants visited key landmarks including Bailey Guard, the treasury, Banquet Hall, Fayrer’s House, cemetery, Begum Kothi and La Martiniere post, while learning about their significance during the uprising of 1857.Explaining the origins of the Residency, Atif said its foundation was linked to the Faizabad Treaty signed between Shuja-ud-Daula and the East India Company, under which a British Resident was to stay in Awadh.He said Residency was built by Asaf-ud-Daula and later completed during the reign of Saadat Ali Khan II, while several structures within the complex were designed by Claude Martin.At the Banquet Hall, Atif told participants that the building once hosted leisure gatherings and parties organised by the Chief Resident and although the structure now lies in ruins, its stucco work and colonial staircases still reflect its former grandeur.

As the group moved towards the main Residency building, he pointed out the tehkhanas (basements), where British women and children reportedly took shelter during the uprising of 1857.He also enlightened about Union Jack that was once hoisted atop the building. At the cemetery, participants were shown a nearly 200-year-old ‘Imli’ (tamarind tree) near the burial grounds.A square enclosure containing the graves of nearly 100 British soldiers was also highlighted.

Memorials of several British officers, including Chief Resident Henry Lawrence, were discussed during the walk.Towards the end, A K Srivastava displayed a map of Lucknow from 1856 and explained how the city was then surrounded by the Gomti river and Haider Canal. He said water was central to life, transport and climate comfort, which was why the affluent class lived near water bodies and landmarks such as Bara Imambara, Chhatar Manzil, Dilkusha Kothi and the Residency developed close to them.He also shared that the heart of Macchi Bhawan Panchmala once stood in the present administrative area of King George’s Medical University.