IN AN INTERVIEW WITH TAUHEED HAIDER RAZA. 

The monument, Lucknow Residency is a part of Lucknow’s History and Architecture. To explore my narratives further, I decided to take the interview of Tauheed Haider, who has been closely associated with this place and has explored various aspects of the city of Lucknow, India.

I decided to take his interview since he has inspired me to work on the project. I’ve been observing his work keenly for quite some time. Though Tauheed doesn’t really work on exploring and breaking narratives, his art inspired me to explore the Lucknow Heritage and use it for my own narrative.

 

For my secondary research, I asked him to share his own personal views and experiences regarding the Lucknow Residency.

 

Q- What impact did the uprising of 1857 have on Lucknow Residency?

Strangely enough, the uprising of 1857 started and concluded at the Musa Bagh and the Kothi became the citadel of Prince Birjis Qadr and Begum Hazrat Mahal when they were thrown out of the Qaiserbagh palace. The Kothi was the last structure to be attacked by the British troops, they started firing on the mutineers who decided to hide inside the residency and nearly 500 mutineers were killed.

 

Q- What do you think about its structure?

A- The structure today is in ruins. Built-in Lakhauri, the design was inspired by Claude Martin’s Constanta and Kothi Farhat Baksh. Highlights of the remains are Roman composite order pillars, cylindrical chamber domes with winding staircases, oval windows, Claude Martin’s iconic style of sunken structures to cool the surrounding rooms and some floral vine patterns on the walls.

 

Q- What heritage and historical value does this place hold?

This place has a lot of heritage value, has a beautiful architectural history. It needs immediate attention and awareness of its plight. If nothing is done soon, this hidden gem would be lost in the rubbles of time; and like many other places, only pictures would remain to tell its story.

 

Tauheed’s work page- https://www.instagram.com/tauheed.haider/?hl=en

 

 

-Tauheed Haider Raza

(5th-year Architecture, University of Mumbai)

 

 

Secondary Research- Interview. / Moh Mandhyan / Drawn From the City (2020-2021)[SEM1] by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0