72 Taboots (coffins) of Martrys of Kerbala

On monday 18 feb 2008 the juloos was organised by Anjuman-e- Shabbiria in Bada Imambara. Majlis was held at 3 PM and taqreer delivered by Qaiser Juanpuri. This Juloos is conducted in the campus of Imambara.
was salaam

PROTEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LUCKNOW: Shia Muslims on 24th january staged a protest and courted arrest near Bara Imambara here demanding lifting of the ban on taking out religious processions. Led by senior community cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, the protestors said they were allowed to take out only nine religious processions a year and wanted permission for taking out 953. Carrying black flags, banners and placards, they squatted on the road, disrupting traffic in the area for several hours. The district administration has imposed the ban, considering that a large number of Shia and Sunni Muslims live in the old city and taking out of too many processions could trigger sectarin tension in the area

Tazia Burial at Karbala Talkatora

This is a new series an extension of Ashura, as the processionists move from Nakhas to Karbala Talkatora, scourging doing Matam, kamazani, alongside this procession is people carrying the Tazias a part of the House Imambada for burial.Women, children , men barefeet , head uncovered converge at the cemetery grounds of Talkatora, an ancient Shrine or Roza of Hazrat Imam Hussain, These are sensitive portrayal of a Shia custom , the burial of the Tazia.I dont know the actual history behind this practice. It signifying the Martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain.Nothing more.
So back to Karbala Talkatora..burial of the Tazias

CHOTA IMAMBADA

Unlike the Moghul emperors, the Nawabs of Awadh did not build magnificent tombs, superb palaces and great forts for themselves and their beloved wives. Their architectural ingenuity got its expression in building great places of assembly or Imambargahs meant for mourning Imam Husain the grand son of the Prophet of Islam, who was killed at Karbala. Emulating their rulers the courtiers and other prominent people in the public also built many Imambargahs or Imambaras as they are locally called, for the mourning congregations which continue for 2 months and 8 days starting from the 1 st of Muharram (The first month of Islamic calendar, on the tenth of which Husain was martyred in 680 AD). Lucknow is thus studded with gems of this rare architectural and historical beauty of that age. At least 24 such Imambargahs are identified by the State Government. Many of them were built by some prominent Hindus too.
Of all these, the one which has withstood the vagaries of time and is best maintained, as is evident from comparing it with a photograph by Shepherd and Robertson(1863) available at http://www.collectbritain.co.uk, is the Imambargah at Husainabad; locally known as Husainabad Imambara or more popularly Chota Imambara. It is called Chota (smaller) Imambara because in comparison to the grand Imambargah of Asafud-Daulla, which is known as Bara (bigger) Imambara, it is smaller in size. It is situated a few hundred yards west of the Bara Imambara. Both of them are on the southern bank of Gomti River. In fact the High Flood Line mark drawn during the British period on the outer gates of Chota Imambara and even a few inches above its main platform, remind us that there were times when the entire front courtyard and even the platform was inundated with the river water.
It was constructed during the reign of Muhammad Ali Shah between 1837 and1842.Its uniqueness from other Muslim buildings is clearly visible in influence of European architecture blended with the traditional Moghul Persian style, most prominent of which are the two Greco-Roman style statues standing on the two sides of the entrance gate to the main courtyard. They hold in their hands heavy iron chains, which are embedded in the ground at one end and run to the top of the gate on the other. It seems therefore, that they served as ornate lightening conductors. On the gate is a heavy statue of a fishlike creature with big wings, which served as a wind cock. The main road runs east-west outside this gate through the two huge outer gates on the two sides. Just opposite the entrance gate on the other side of the road is the Naubat Khana, or the trumpet house where drummers used to play the funeral salute beats during Muharram. In the outer boundary, on the sides of the inner wall and on the back is the Langar Khana or the feast house which was used for feeding the people who participated in the mourning assemblies (Majlis).
Entering the entrance gate one comes in front of a big rectangular pool, which ends on the other side at the main hall. At the right side is the tomb of the daughter of Muhammad Ali Shah and on the left hand is its replica built to maintain the visual balance. A small mosque which, because of its Mecca axis, is an odd structure in the entire layout is beautifully concealed behind the tomb of the princess. Beyond the tomb is the stable for Zuljinah, the white horse which is kept to remember Husain's stallion during the mourning processions. Beyond the replica of the tomb on the left, is Hammam the washroom.
The main hall has a huge golden dome and five arched entrance. The walls contain intricate Arabic calligraphic designs. The most prominent is on the pillars. Which reads "La fata illa Ali, La saif illa Zulfiqar" (There is no gallant but Ali, there is no sword but Zulfiqar- Ali's forked sword). The inside of the hall is decorated with huge mirrors in golden frames and big chandeliers, which are lit during Muharram nights.
On first Muharram, every year, Shahi Juloos (the Royal Procession) of mourners still goes from the Bara Imambara to Chota Imambara, reminding of the majestic days when Lucknow was the capital of the Nawabs.

chup tazia, lucknow

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Hujjat Rizvi