Imambara Babban Saheb-Kanpur

Imambara Babban Saheb-Kanpur

Dr Mazhar Naqvi

Imambara Babban Saheb is one of the oldest Imambaras of Kanpur and famous for its Chup Tazia procession all over the country. The Imambara is small in size as compared to Imambara Nawab Muzaffar Hussain, Imambara Hadi Begum and Imambargah Agha Meer and Imambara Hakim Pyare but in terms of religious congregations and Muharram processions it outsmarts its other counterparts in Kanpur. 

Of late, it has also started hosting the program of ‘Din Bhar Matam’ under the aegis of Anjuman- Anwar-E-Panjatni .The program is first of its kind in India and is considered to be an innovative method of checking the declining popularity of Shabbedaris. The Matami Anjumans of Kanpur perform Nauhakhwani and breast beating whole day on a given’ misra’ as a part of Ayam-E-Aza.

The Chup Tazia procession is taken out from this Imambara on the first Sunday of Rabi- Ul- Awwal. It was started by an ardent admirer of Karbala martyrs Janab Munis Raza Saheb about 110 years ago. Initially, the procession used to start from a building that once housed Neelam House school near Lakar Mandi but later on shifted to Imambara Babban Saheb when the building was sold by its owner about 100 years ago. It is  taken out on the first Sunday of Rabi-ul- Awwal so as to enable local Shia Muslims to participate in the historic 

Chup Tazia procession of Lucknow. It originates from Imambara Babban Saheb in Colonelganj and moves in complete silence while passing through Yateem Khana Crossing, Beconganj and Gammu Khan Ka hata. It culminates at Karbala Azam Ali Khan where a majlis is held  which is addressed by internally acclaimed Zakir-e-Ahlebait , Mirza Mohammad Ashfaq Saheb for the past three decades .

This Imambara also has the unique distinction of  hosting a Shabbedari of women on the first Saturday of Rabi Ul Awwal or  on the eve of Chup Tazia procession. The uniqueness of Shabbedari lies in the fact that instead of any female zakira, its Majlis is addressed by a male Zakir such as Maulana Ghazanfar Abbas Tusi,  Maulana- Al- Qami and many others.. Since Anjuman Panjatni takes care of Imambara, all the programs are very old as the Anjuman traces its origin to 1886.Imambara has recently been renovated by its current caretaker  Syed Manzar Hussain. Now the Imambara has RCC slab and its walls are decorated with glazed tiles. Except for the silver Panjas installed in the imambara by Jafri Begum, the old patkas have also been replaced by the new ones.

Musharraf , the grandson of Nawab Shanshah Hussain, revealed that though the Imambara is popular by the  name of Babban Saheb but it was established by Nawab Mohammad Saeed and his wife Jafri Begum. The Imambara is registered also as wakf Jafri Begum .Nawab Mohammad Saeed had settled down in Kanpur after the annexation of Awadh kingdom by the British. He was a close relative of Hadi Begum Sahiba and also of Nawab Azam Ali Khan who was hanged by British on the charge of supplying Rasad to the army of Nana sahib in 1857.