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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Lucknow}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}<br />
[[File:Asfi masjid.jpg|thumb|The Asfi mosque, located near the Imambara]]<br />
'''Bara Imambara''', also known as '''Asfi Mosque''' is an [[imambara]] complex in [[Lucknow, India]] built by [[Asaf-ud-Daula]], [[Nawab of Awadh]] in 1784. ''Bara'' means ''big''.This Imambara is the 2 Largest imambara after '''[[Nizamat Imambara|Nizamat Imambara(World Largest Imambara)]]''' <br />
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==Building composition==<br />
[[File:Roof seen from bhul- bhulaiya.jpg|thumb|View from the roof of the labyrinth of Bara Imambara]]<br />
The building also includes the large Asfi [[mosque]], the Bhul-bhulaiya (the labyrinth), and Bowli, a step well with running water. Two imposing gateways lead to the main hall. It is said that there are 1024 ways to reach the terrace but only two to come back first gate or the last gate. It is an accidental architecture.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}<br />
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==Relief measure==<br />
Construction of Bara Imambara was started in 1780, a year of a devastating famine, and one of Asaf-ud-Daula's objectives in embarking on this grandiose project was to provide employment for people in the region for almost a decade while the famine lasted. It is said that ordinary people used to work in the day building up the [[edifice]], while [[noblemen]] and other elite worked at night to break down anything that was raised that day. It was a project that preceded a [[Keynesian]]-like intervention for employment generation. Construction of the Imambara was completed in 1794. The estimated cost of building the Imambara ranges between half a million rupees to a million rupees. Even after completion, the Nawab used to spend between four and five hundred thousand rupees on its decoration annually.<ref name="CHMI">{{cite book| author = Meenakshi Khanna| title = Cultural History Of Medieval India| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbKv3zyIFD8C&pg=PA82| date = 2007-07-01| publisher = Berghahn Books| isbn = 978-81-87358-30-5| page = 82 }}</ref><br />
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==Architecture==<br />
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"><br />
Asif tomb.jpg|The simple grave of [[Asaf-Ud-Dowlah|Asaf ud-Daula]] under a canopy inside the Bara Imambara; a watercolor by Seeta Ram, c. 1814–15.<br />
Imambara of Asaf-ud-daula interior.jpg|The current day interior view.<br />
KITLV 91964 - Unknown - Gateway to Husainabad Imambara in Lucknow in India - Around 1860.tif|[[Rumi Darwaza]], the gateway to Husainabad Imambara in Lucknow in India, around 1860.<br />
Bada Imambada(Outer view).jpg|The outer view of Bara Imambara.<br />
</gallery><br />
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The architecture of the complex reflects the maturation of ornamented [[Mughal architecture|Mughal]] design, namely the [[Badshahi Mosque]] - it is one of the last major projects not incorporating any European elements or the use of iron. The main imambara consists of a large vaulted central chamber containing the tomb of Asaf-ud-Daula. At 50 by 16&nbsp;meters and over 15&nbsp;meters tall, it has no beams supporting the ceiling and is one of the largest such arched constructions in the world. There are eight surrounding chambers built to different roof heights, permitting the space above these to be reconstructed as a three-dimensional [[labyrinth]] with passages interconnecting with each other through 489 identical doorways. This part of the building, and often the whole complex, may be referred to as the ''Bhulbhulaiya''. Known as a popular attraction, it is possibly the only existing maze in India and came about unintentionally to support the weight of the building which is constructed on marshy land. Asaf-ud-Daula also erected the 18&nbsp;meter (59&nbsp;foot) high [[Roomi Darwaza]], just outside. This portal, embellished with lavish decorations, was the Imambara's west-facing entrance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laxys.com/lucknow_taxi.html |title=Lucknow City |publisher=Laxys.com |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref><br />
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The design of the Imambara was obtained through a competitive process. The winner was a Delhi architect Kifayatullah,<ref name="CHMI" /> who also lies buried in the main hall of the Imambara. It is another unique aspect of the building that the sponsor and the architect lie buried beside each other. The roof of Imambara is made up from the rice husk which makes this Imambara a unique building.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Roomi Darwaza]]<br />
* [[Chhatar Manzil]]<br />
* [[Imambara Shah Najaf]]<br />
* [[Chota Imambara]]<br />
* [[Imambara Ghufran Ma'ab]]<br />
* [[Imambaras of Lucknow]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* {{Commons category-inline|Bara Imambara}}<br />
* [http://www.trodly.com/destination/3073/bara-imambara-lucknow Bara Imambara more facts]<br />
{{Lucknow division topics}}<br />
{{Lucknow}}<br />
[[Category:Indo-Islamic architecture]]<br />
[[Category:Shia shrines]]<br />
[[Category:Shia Islam in India]]<br />
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Uttar Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Imambaras of Lucknow]]<br />
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1784]]<br />
[[Category:1784 establishments in India]]</div>202.142.103.77