After Karl’s lesson about Hinduism — thanks to being pelted with hard green guavas thrown at him while he slept — the rest of his letter to the local Truro newspaper on January 19th, 1901, shared more about his time in Lucknow:
“I rode on for another five miles until I came to Mughulsarai. Here I found a Dak Bungalow (sort of an accommodation house for European travellers) where I stopped until the next morning.
Two places of interest in Lucknow are “The Residency” and the “Palace of Lights”. The Residency, where the Europeans took refuge during the mutiny, is an old building, full of bullet holes from the guns of the Sepoys. The place is fast going to ruin. The Palace of Lights is an immense building in which are a great many Hindu gods and thousands of lamps, which are lit up annually for two or three days, during some Hindu festival, at a cost of three lakhs of rupees, a sum equal to $100,000.”
The town of Mughulsarai, a former railway junction stop, is now officially known as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar located along the Grand Trunk Road. The “Dak bungalows” —referred to by Karl— were established by the British Government, offering free accommodation for government officials and cheap lodging for other travellers. The bungalows would be sufficiently, if not simply furnished, and a meal would be provided with enough notice to the Innkeeper of an intended arrival time. Then, after 24 hours, if another traveller is seeking accommodation, the priority is to the new potential occupant and the previous customer is required to move on.
Fortunately, the Dak bungalows have been replaced with standard hotels, and I opted for a heritage hotel in Lucknow where I knew my reservation meant I couldn’t be turfed after 24 hours.
But like Karl, I did start my time as a tourist in Lucknow at “The Residency”.
The Residency, also called the British Residency and Residency Complex, is a group of several buildings in the heart of the City of Lucknow. Construction started in 1775 as the residence for the British Resident General, a representative in the court of the Nawab* and other British officers and their staff.
The complex is spread over 33 acres and encompasses several buildings, including the residence, a banquet hall, school, hospital, mosque, gardens, a treasury, and post office. But the existence of this community within the compound didn’t last long, as in 1857 Lucknow was the site of a siege and freedom fighters attacked the Residency.
The British relied on allegiances with local Indian rulers like the Nawab and Indian soldiers known as sepoys. But in May 1857, there was a rebellion by the sepoys who had support of Indian civilians who set out to besiege and reclaim cities under British rule. At the Residency, 3,000 British civilians were under siege for 148 days.
In total, 855 British soldiers, 712 Indian soldiers, and 153 volunteers were defending 1,280 civilians in the Residency against a rebel force of almost 8,000. In November 1857, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was then abandoned.
There was extensive damage to the Residency, evident when Karl observed the bullet holes and buildings falling to ruin in 1901. Today, most of the buildings are ruins, and the complex is now a historical site by the Archaeological Survey of India. In addition to being able to visit the buildings, there is also a cemetery for the 2,000 soldiers who lost their lives during the siege.
It was a fascinating historical site, and I’ve laid out a virtual tour for you dear reader, with some of the notable buildings of the Residency:
Treasury Building
Constructed in 1851, it was initially used as a treasury, but during the war of 1857 the central part of the building was used as an ordinance factory for the manufacturing of enfield cartridges. It suffered extensive damages during the siege of 1857; canon shots and bullets can be seen on the building exterior.
Residency Main Building
Originally a three-storied building meant for the British residents — hence the name! There was a portico and verandah, spiral stairs, and two turrets to the roof. There were many windows and underground rooms as a respite from the hot winds of a Lucknow summer. During the siege, the ladies and children took shelter in the underground rooms. Sir Henry Lawrence (British military officer) was mortally wounded on July 2nd 1857 in this building.
Dr. Fayrer’s House
The building was named after the residency surgeon during the siege. The house was built on a slope with gardens on both sides. There was also an underground room here for refuge from the heat — Sir Henry Lawrence moved here after being wounded and died here 2 days later
Mosque and Imambara
Vilayati Begum—begum meaning wife of the Nawab—also had a house in the Residency where she lived with her half-sister, Ashrafunissa. When Vilayati died, Ashrafunissa built an Imambara (a place for the gathering of religious people) and a Mosque that she used while living within the complex.
Ruins
There are ruins of many palatial buildings. Claude Martin and officers of the East India Company built the buildings.
The siege of Lucknow is now regarded as one of the most disastrous events in the history of the British occupancy of India. After the evacuation of the civilians, it led to the dissolution of the East India Company, and the British assumed direct control of India in the form of the new British Raj.
Stay tuned next week dear reader when we visit the other significant sites referenced by Karl and an extra location that I scouted out.
*You’ll recall dear reader in our Karl Chronicle when he met the Maharaja that esteemed rulers were granted titles such as Maharaja (if they belonged to the Hindu or Sikh faith), which translates to "great ruler/king," or Nawab, meaning "nobleman" (if they followed the Muslim faith).
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