Imambara of a Fashion Designer in Pathetic Condition

 Wailing Imambara of a Fashion Designer  

By Prof.Mazhar Naqvi

Makka Darzi, the builder of the majestic Imambara in Khairabad town of Sitapur district, is not mentioned with praise in historical accounts. He has always been portrayed as a person who charged enormously King Naseer Uddin Haider for designing his European dresses. Makka is also charged with extracting heavy amount for the material used by him to produce exclusive garments for the king. The notoriety slapped on him as an embezzler both by Indian and British authors have put his significant contribution to promotion of Azadari and erection of a vast Imambara complex with more florid style almost forgotten.

Though the Imambara has featured in the famous book of Banmali Tandon titled “The

Architecture of Lucknow and Its dependencies, 1722-1856” because of its unique design, it is in a state of utter neglect at present. The pathetic condition of Imambara can only be described as an act of sheer ingratitude by the devotees of Imam Husain and also as worst example of indifference exhibited by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and organization like INTACH. The historic town of Khairabad is not much away from Lucknow, the most important center of azadari in the world. In the past two decades, Lucknow based Husaini outfits has renovated several dilapidated shrines but none has so far come forward to restore the lost glory of Makka Darzi’s Imambara.

The continuing apathy towards the Imambara is great injustice to Makka who also lies buried inside the sacred complex erected by him, containing a Mosque, Qadam Rasul an Imambara. Historians have accused him of fleecing the King but no one has bothered to find as to how could he persuade Naseer Uddin Haider to dole out any amount he asked for preparing his regal garments? The answer lies in the inability of the historians to look beyond what is obvious? They have treated him only as an ordinary tailor. No doubt Makka was a Darzi(tailor) by caste but a Fashion Designer by profession.  

He was the only one in the entire Kingdom to fulfill Nasir Uddin’s fancy and passion for European dresses. Makka learnt from the five favorite European friends of the King the intricacies of English dress –making and excelled so much that he could demand any amount for designing and stitching an exclusive garment in conformity with the expectations of Nasir Uddin Haider. Makka would have been considered as a celebrated fashion designer in the modern era but as he lived and worked in 19^th century, history recalls him as a fleece and also does not recognize him as a great Azadar who charged a hefty fee for his creations and used it on the construction of shrines dedicated to the sacred memory of Prophet and his family.          

Those acquainted with the working of fashion designers know well that they attempt to design clothes that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional as well. Before designing any dress, they consider who is going to wear the garment and the situations in which it will be used. They select from a wide range and combinations of materials, colors, patterns and styles to work with on the chosen design. Looking at these parameters, one can easily derive the conclusion that Makka was a great fashion designer of his time.

He repeatedly proved through his creations the difference between ordinary tailoring and  dress making based on  Fashion designing. Who can claim that Makka was not aware of Charles Fredrick who is considered to be the first fashion designer ? Charles was also a contemporary of Makka, for the former had started fashion designing in 19^th century itself.

Charles earned name and fame because of his ability to dictate his customers what they should wear, instead of following their suggestions and preferences .Makka also exactly did the same. Nasir Uddin was an impulsive King with mood swings at a feverish pitch. At the behest of his European friends, he changed his life style completely and developed a passion for foreign made objects. Though he became addicted to European lifestyle on the suggestion of his British  friends, his adoption of European manners, dress and etiquette was presented in a comical manner in the Britain and other European countries. William Knighton in his account 'The Private Life of an Eastern King' projected him as a lewd, characterless and useless person.

While Nasir Uddin got slighted his image and  later publication of his private and public life  only discredited him further, Makka  also earned enemies for producing dresses  influenced by cultural and social latitudes and correctly anticipating the changing tastes and preferences of Nasir Uddin Haider. His rivals at the court ensured his exit from the royal court and he had to retire to Khairabad where he devoted his time for the construction of his shrine. He also left behind him at Lucknow a beautifully laid garden near Bakhshi Ka Talab.

The design of his Imambara indicates his aesthetic taste. The ground level plan of the imambara is a variation from the orthodox formula. The shrine has a small, high walled enclosure with an entrance gateway with a pointed arch and exuberant decoration. The Imambara consists of three chambers, running parallel to east- west axis. The roof also has an interesting design. It is flat on its borders but raised in the middle. The interiors are too once lavishly decorated. The main facade of Imambara has a row of foliated arches each of which is surmounted by sets of three small round headed arches.

 The deplorable condition of one of the most flamboyant Imambaras built by perhaps the first fashion designer of Nawabi era is painful. In all the websites dedicated to tourist spots of Lucknow and surrounding areas, Imambara prominently features but its pathetic condition is never highlighted. Does it not amount to cheating? Surely so as a visitor only gets disappointment when he finds only traces of a magnificent architectural feat instead of a majestic structure.