Engineer Saiyed Anwer Abbas Rizvi-Protector of Imami
Heritage in Lucknow
Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
Saiyed Anwer Abbas, an electrical
engineer, has done what historians were supposed to do for conservation of
Imami heritage in Lucknow. His efforts have yielded positive results as well,
for a number of Imambaras, Karbalas and mosques
have been renovated and work is going at several other Imami sites for their
restoration to pasty glory. Moreover, Abbas has also been able to document scores
of imambaras who once existed on the soil of Lucknow and their description is
found in the works of contemporary historians like Nami Kakorvi and Agha Mehndi.
He has written over 200 articles on the heritage sites of Lucknow and his
weekly series titled ‘A Time in History” lasted from 1997 to 1999 in The
Hindustan Times .This was followed by a book under the title of “ Wailing
Beauty”. In 2009, he published another book titled “Lost Monuments of Lucknow”
from his own resources .His work brought to light the names of several
imambaras unheard so far.
Abbas happened to be in Lucknow
when he left his field job and took up teaching at an engineering college. As
culture, literature, fine arts, calligraphy and azadari rituals always
fascinated him, he delved into the study of Lucknow monuments with seriousness.
Abbas did hard work and visited almost all the sites personally ,took photographs
and produced quality articles that prompted devotees of Hazrat Imam Hussain to
look at the dilapidated condition of several historic imambaras and Karbalas
and initiate a campaign for their renovation. His first article had appeared in
1989 in Lucknow City Magazine but it was not on any heritage site but revolved
around the Lucknowi manner of speech. His knowledge about history and culture
also earned him an assignment from Doordarshan to write a script for a TV
documentary on Muharram and Imambaras of Lucknow. He also held an exhibition of
his photographs based on Nawabi and colonial monuments with the help of INTACH as a part of Lucknow Mahotsava in 2001
under the title “ Bhoore Bisre Naqsh”( Forgotten Imprints).Majority of photographs
on display portrayed Imami sites and some of them were never captured by any
camera.
The seriousness of his works can
be gauged from the fact that while his first book wailing Beauty was devoid of
any reference, his 2009 book is supplemented with 1225 references and 170
illustrations of structures in their original, earlier or present state. The
references have been given from some 200 publications in Persian, Urdu, Hindi
and English. In the process of making his work scholarly and authentic, Abbas
could deal with nearly 500 monuments and historical sites belonging to 11th
to 19th century .Most of these sites are now part of historical
documents and untraceable or have been replaced with commercial and residential
complexes thanks to land grabbers or irresponsible caretakers.
The book Lost Monuments of Lucknow”
has immortalized the names of Qudisia Mahal, Mashooq Mahal, Kaiwan Jah, Nawab
Alia Begum, Sultan Mahal, Safdar Ali, Jafar Ali Khan, Ali Naqi Khan, Basheer Ud
Daula, Maharaja Mewa Ram, Mir Haider Baksh, Mir Ahsan, Qasim Ali Khan, Bi Misri,
Sarfaraz Ud Daula, Ikram Ullah Khan, Ateeq Ullah Khan and Faujdar Khan as
builders of imposing imambaras and Karbalas in Lucknow. Had Abbas not mentioned
in his work imambaras and Karbalas built by them, their names would have remained
unknown to present and future generation, for the buildings erected by them in
memory of martyrs of Karbala were either demolished by British after recapture
of Lucknow in 1857 or fallen prey to poor maintenance and greed of land sharks.
It is because of Abbas that Qudsia Mahal and Mashooq Mahal have also become
known to devotees of Imam Hussain as builder of Imambaras otherwise they have
been recorded in the history only as favorite queens of Nawab Nasir Uddin Haider
and King Wajid ali Shah. The same can be said also for other builders who were
known as only courtiers and nobles of Nawabi era in the contemporary accounts
and not as ardent lovers of Ahle-Bait-E-Athar.
Imambara Zainul Abdeen Khan, one
of the most beautiful of its kind due to its calligraphy, owes its renovation
thanks to Abbas. Zainul Abdeen Khan was in the service of Mian Almas Ali Khan
and he had built Imambara with profuse decoration. He had left behind several lakhs
of rupees at the time of his death to his wife Misri Begum in 1793.Imambara
once had Quaranic inscriptions and Tughra ( Calligraphic Design) to represent
Allah Almightily, Holy Prophet and twelve Imamas. Zainul Abdeen’s descendants
however did not prove to be worthy and they mortgaged the Imambara. Maulana Aqa
Hasan, a prominent Imami scholar retrieved it by clearing off the debts but by
that time, roof covering the large hall divided into three compartments had
collapsed to leave the shrine in a very bad shape.
Imambara Zainul Abdeen Khan
The structure remained so till
2007 when at the behest of Abbas restoration of Imambara began during the
Mutwalliship of Maula Syed kalbe Jawwad Naqvi. Anwer Abbas took personal
interest in the restoration and retained the services of a young calligrapher
Azeem Haider Jafri to restore the profuse decoration that once covered all the
fifteen archways of the imambara. Apart from Imambara Zainul Abdeen that boasts
of a unique oriental pagoda nowhere else visible in any type of Imami
structure, the electrical engineer turned historian has also been responsible
for renovation of sites like Kala Imambara, Imambara Agha Baqar, Karbala near
Vikas Deep Building on station road and several other shrines. May Allah shower
on him his choicest blessings in the Sadqa of Chahadara Masoomeen. (References available
on Request)
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