STUDY OF LUCKNOW HYBRID ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

1.1.1 HISTORIANS VIEW ON LUCKNOW ARCHITECTURE Lucknow is a north Indian City whose earliest settlement can be traced back to the 13`h century. It has always been ruled by Muslim rulers- first the Sheikhs, then the sultans of Delhi and finally the Mughals. After the death of the last Mughal ruler, Aurangzeb, in around 1720, Lucknow was acquired by the Nawabs, who were earlier deputies of the Mughal monarchs. They broke away completely from the Delhi court in 1728, and declared themselves as kings. In 1775, they declared Lucknow as their capital. But by then the British were becoming stronger in India still continued to act as rulers on behalf of the British till 1856. Thus, the Nawab rule in Lucknow lasted from 1775 to 1856. In a great uprising in 1857, called `the sepoy mutiny', the last Nawab of Awadh was exiled and full British rule was established in Lucknow. The architecture of Lucknow has been studied mainly within the British tradition of periods and styles by Fergusson, Percy brown and Tillotson. The American scholars who studied Lucknow_ within their discussion on colonial architecture are Sten Nilsson, Jan Morris and Thomas Metcalf. Lastly are scholars who undertook an exclusive study of the 18th - 19th century architecture of Lucknow, such as Rosie Llewellyn Jones, Keith Hjortshoj and Yogesh Praveen.