The Gomti Riverfront in Lucknow, India: Revitalization of a Cultural Heritage Landscape PDF

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This article was downloaded by: [University of Illinois] On: 21 October 2009 Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 907059292] Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

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The Gomti Riverfront in Lucknow, India: Revitalization of a Cultural Heritage Landscape Swati Nagpal a; Amita Sinha b School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India b Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, IL, USA

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Online Publication Date: 01 November 2009

To cite this Article Nagpal, Swati and Sinha, Amita(2009)'The Gomti Riverfront in Lucknow, India: Revitalization of a Cultural Heritage

Landscape',Journal of Urban Design,14:4,489 — 506 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/13574800903264838 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13574800903264838

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Journal of Urban Design, Vol. 14. No. 4, 489–506, November 2009

The Gomti Riverfront in Lucknow, India: Revitalization of a Cultural Heritage Landscape SWATI NAGPAL* & AMITA SINHA**

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*School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India; **Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, IL, USA

ABSTRACT Historic Lucknow was oriented to the Gomti riverfront with monumental architecture of mosques, mausoleums and palaces concentrated on the southern bank. Thus the river was much more than a transportation artery enjoyed for its views and breezes and appreciated for its utility. This elite riverfront landscape was transformed into backwaters and disappeared from the public eye over time. Its centrality as a landscape of power was lost as a result of the momentous political and economic changes, beginning with the Indian Uprising/Mutiny in 1857. Although efforts are currently underway to beautify the riverfront by lining it with parks and plazas, they do not explicitly evoke the historic landscape and are piecemeal efforts to provide greenery. The paper outlines an urban conservation model and suggests design interventions that would revitalize the riverfront and contribute towards preserving both tangible and intangible heritage of the city.

Introduction The cultural heritage of Lucknow, the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, is interwoven with the Gomti River, on the banks of which it flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Gomti River, vital to the establishment and sustenance of historic Lucknow, has become more of a backwater over time. No longer a transportation artery or a recreational amenity, it was lost to the public consciousness, particularly after embankments were built on both its banks in a bid to protect the city from the flooding river. However, the last decade has witnessed vigorous efforts on the part of the state government to ‘beautify’ the riverfront. Missing in these endeavours has been a conscious effort to celebrate Lucknow’s cultural heritage and to restore the river’s ecological health. The premise of this paper is that the Gomti riverfront can become an arena for heritage revitalization, in the process strengthening the unique identity of the city under threat by forces of large-scale economic and social changes. The riverfront as the site of much of Lucknow’s historic and monumental architecture and in proximity to its historic urban core is particularly suited for revitalization efforts. The paper proposes that the revitalization efforts should be guided by an urban conservation model that aims at enhancing the ‘sense’ of the city. Kevin Correspondence Address: Amita Sinha, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 101 Temple Buell Hall, 611 Lorado Taft Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, USA. Email: [email protected] 1357-4809 Print/1469-9664 Online/09/040489-18 q 2009 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/13574800903264838

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Lynch defines the sense of a settlement by the “clarity with which it can be perceived and identified, and the ease with which its elements can be linked with other events and places in a coherent representation of time and space” (Lynch, 1987, p. 131). This model expands the scope of heritage conservation efforts in Indian cities that have been hitherto directed largely towards architectural monuments, to the exclusion of their urban context. The ‘monument-centric’ approach, initiated in colonial India has continued to retain its hold in post-colonial India, resulting in a disconnection between the preserved historic monument and its changing surroundings (Menon, 2003). This emphasis on material heritage, and particularly that of buildings alone, is at odds with what the culture values about its past—its modes of aesthetic expression (of which architecture is only a part), oral narrative traditions and symbolic meanings attributed to nature. The lack of congruence between institutional practice of heritage conservation and societal values has resulted in urban landscapes where the isolated historic monuments do not play a meaningful role in developing a vivid sense of the city’s past. An urban conservation model that puts equal emphasis on the area around and between historic buildings as on the buildings themselves is necessary bearing in mind that medieval structures were always an ensemble with complex visual and physical relationships among the units. The natural landscape determined the location of forts, palace complexes and gardens, and the interaction between the built form and landscape occurred in multiple ways. The most appropriate way to preserve the spirit of the past would be to conserve and/or recreate these relationships. An equally important aspect of the urban conservation model is the emphasis on intangible heritage, that which resides in cultural habits of perception, knowledge and technologies and is manifested in tangible forms—artifacts, buildings and cultural landscapes. Multiple forms of heritage can be preserved through planning and programmatic efforts in this model, wherein heritage sites can be spaces for performance and production. Another facet of this approach is the acknowledgement and acceptance of temporal change. This means accommodating new structures, new ways of using spaces and changing cultural norms. Urban conservation would thus be an assemblage of elements of different periods, made coherent through landscape design and signage. Historic conservation should be thought of as a “problem of sensibility—as a way of enriching our image of time” (Lynch, 1987, p. 260). Heritage buildings do that, but only partially when compared to what may be achieved by conserving districts (that buildings are a part of) and natural landscape of the city. The river Gomti had been an edge to the historic city that was first settled on its southern bank and has guided its growth over a century. The riverbank edged the linear growth of the city, at least the monumental part consisting of palaces, mansions, country retreats and gardens that were situated to take advantage of the river’s expansive views, cooling breezes and ready availability of water. The river and its banks were a path of movement that not only afforded entries to the buildings and gardens but also served as places from where they could be viewed, thereby ensuring a memorable image of the city. Although Gomti is no longer an edge or a path, it remains the only venue from where large stretches of the historic and the contemporary city can be glimpsed and accessed. It is this potential that can be exploited to enhance the sense of time and place that Lynch so eloquently

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describes as the purpose of historic conservation and a key performance dimension of the good city form. Much of the historic riverfront landscape has disappeared (although many historic buildings remain) and new types of landscapes have emerged, yet this is not as much of an obstacle as it may first appear. A close ‘reading’ of the historic and contemporary landscapes, their patterns of forms and meanings, reveals that through selective design interventions and urban linkages, it is possible to enhance that elusive urban quality that Lynch calls ‘sense of the city’. The 19th century riverfront was painted and photographed extensively by European and local artistes—these representations allow us to ‘read’ the cultural landscape as shaped by picturesque and pictorial conventions of the time. The contemporary landscape is interpreted by documenting existing open space types, their uses and meanings. Based upon these ‘readings’, the redesign here of the riverfront reconciles the past and present by restoring the historic connection between the heritage buildings and the river and serving as a catalyst for economic and cultural revitalization. Thus the proposal is not a thematic recreation of the past but one whose authenticity is derived from engagement with the ongoing trajectory of change, in the process reversing decline and ushering in a renewed engagement of the city with the river. The River Gomti Gomti, unlike Ganga or its tributary Yamuna, is not a goddess and is not celebrated as such in mythology and folklore, yet like all rivers in India its waters are considered to be purifying for bathing in all auspicious occasions, and revered enough for worship rituals performed in shrines and temples on its banks. Unlike Varanasi on Ganga or Mathura on Yamuna, Lucknow’s cultural heritage was not dominated by the river’s religious associations due to the city’s very different historical trajectory that was largely characterized by a long period of Islamic rule. It was utilitarian, not spiritual aspects of Gomti that lay behind the monumental landscape taking shape on its banks in the 18th – 19th centuries. The settlement that existed prior to coming of Nawabs was centred around Lakhman-Tila, a promontory on the river bank and also a sacred site, associated with Laskmana, a character from the epic tale Ramayana and an incarnation of Shesha-naga, the mythic serpent supporting the universe. The Nawabs (rulers of Avadh kingdom), followers of the Shia sect in Islam, founded the city of Lucknow that developed into a centre for arts and culture, its richness derived from the mixing of many traditions in the court—Islamic, Hindu and European. The river was the lifeblood of the city that developed on its banks and drew its sustenance from it. As a transportation artery for essential and luxury goods, and as the primary source of irrigation for the gardens, orchards and farms lining its banks, the Gomti would have probably played a crucial role in the economic life of the city. In its social life the riverfront would also have been a pleasurable setting, whether in the walled confines of private garden or the public places where boats docked. The cool breezes, the spacious feel of its wide expanses, and the distant vistas it afforded, made Gomtifront an attractive landscape where the Nawabs, not surprisingly, chose to build their palaces (Llewellyn-Jones, 1997). The remnants of these monumental structures, now bereft of their contextual landscape, today constitute Lucknow’s architectural heritage.

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The Nawabi Landscape Gomti riverfront in the Nawabi period (1775 –1856 CE) was an elite landscape of palace and suburban gardens, country houses and parkland. This landscape evolved rather quickly as each succeeding Nawab sought to make a political statement through grand architectural gestures—secular and religious. Although opinions about Nawabi architectural style vary—ranging from ‘bastardized’ to ‘hybrid’—architectural historians and critics agree that the jumble of buildings that constituted a palace complex were related to each other through courts and gardens (Llewellyn-Jones, 1985; Tandon, 2001). A complex interior landscape emerged in which space flowed easily between indoors and outdoors. The fact that three out of four palaces were situated on the riverbank and one not too far away, is indicative of the value placed on what proximity to a river afforded— cooling breezes and expansive views, boat rides for pleasure, a relief from the heat and congestion of the city, and a plentiful source of water for the many gardens within the palace complex. While the high walls of Macchi Bhavan built on a hill presented a fortress-like appearance, the buildings of Chattar Manzil complex were built into the river with arched openings that allowed the water to flow into the lower floors (Llewellyn-Jones, 1985; Gordon, 2006). Roof top terraces and pavilions were an opportunity to linger and enjoy the river in all its moods from a high vantage point. Walled gardens on the river, built independently of palaces, were a retreat to which the Nawabs and their begums often retired. Vilayaiti Bagh, named after Nasir-ud-din’s European wife, and Hazoori Bagh had dainty pavilions and water

Figure 1. Gomti River, from Oriental Scenery by Thomas and William Daniell, 18th century (British Library).

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channels. For more aggressive pursuits, the riverbank provided open grounds where partridges and quails were hunted and elephant fights were staged (Sinha, 1996). Country houses such as Musa Bagh, Bibiapur Kothi and Dilkusha, although designed in the style of European villas, and quite unlike the other palace complexes, were also deliberately built on the banks of the Gomti River and were used as weekend retreats by the Nawabs and their retinue (Llewellyn-Jones, 1985; Das, 1998, 2006). Although this landscape was similar to the Yamuna riverfront in Agra during the 16th –17th centuries lined by Mughal gardens and palaces, the differences were in the extent of development and also in the quality. Nawabi architecture and gardens were derivative of the Mughal design style yet different. The passage of a century and half had ensured that new influences on architectural form and detailing would creep in, most notably European. This resulted from the nexus of political and commercial relationships between the Shia rulers and Europeans in their court (Fisher, 1997). Claude Martin, the French superintendent of Nawab Asaf-ud-daulah’s arsenal, through his unusually designed buildings on the riverfront—Farhat Baksh, Musa Bagh and La Martiniere—set in motion new trends followed in many Nawabi buildings. These buildings were designed with the landscape—Musa Bagh/Baroween was built into a hill at its rear while its grand front opened into Gomti that entered into the lower floors of Farhat Baksh. Further downstream, Constantia—his mausoleum—was built on the Gomti floodplain with its seven-storey monumental fac¸ade topped by the crest that became the Nawabi signature, and was fronted by a 120-foot high lighthouse in an artificial lake (Llewellyn-Jones, 1985; David, 2006).

Figure 2. La Martiniere during the Mutiny from General Views of Lucknow, Sir D.S. Dodgson, 19th century (British Library).

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The early representations of the Gomti riverfront, watercolours by Hodges (c. 1782) and Daniell (c. 1789) are picturesque depictions of an oriental scene (Figure 1). Domes and minarets can just be seen over the green foliage on the banks of the river linked by the arched stone bridge; elephants casually stroll on the bank and bathe in the waters; small boats with tiny fishermen dot the serene and tranquil landscape. There are also festive depictions of hunting processions and fireworks displays befitting the image of a bustling oriental city. Llewellyn-Jones describes the river as a “place of celebration and partying”, where the “Nawabs and their courtier would drift up and down in their ceremonial barges, the filcharrah or elephant-prowed boat, the peacock-headed punt, and the swan boat”. She describes the “small punts laden with showers of fireworks moored in the river to add the general merriment and echo the enormous fireworks set off on the banks where European bandsmen played tunes before the palaces” (Llewellyn-Jones, 2001). The Colonial Landscape These idyllic scenes on the Gomti riverfront were rent asunder by the Uprising/Mutiny, a momentous event that changed the course of Lucknow and of India. After the last Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was deposed and exiled to Matiya Burj (near Calcutta) in 1856, and administration of Avadh passed into the hands of the East India Company, widespread dissatisfaction among the Indians led to the Sepoys (Indian soldiers) revolting and setting fire to the cantonments in a number of places, including Lucknow. The European Residency, built on one of the three hills on the Gomti riverfront containing a total of 6398 people, was besieged from June to November 1857 (Hilton, 1934; Llewellyn-Jones, 2006). Battles were fought between the Indians led by Begum Hazrat Mahal (wife of deposed Wajid Ali Shah) and the East India Company troops in the gardens on the Gomti –Sikandar Bagh, Shahnajaf Imambara (religious complex), La Martiniere (mausoleum complex of Claude Martin), and Musa Bagh (Figure 2). The Mutiny became a historic event celebrated in British chronicles, and the subject of many paintings that showed pitched tents and troops massed on the riverfront ready for battle (Gupta, 2003). The failed uprising led to drastic political, social and economic changes in the Awadh kingdom (as elsewhere), reflected in the urban landscape—highly visible on the Gomti riverfront in Lucknow. Felice Beato’s panoramic photographs taken in 1858 capture the eerie desolation in the immediate aftermath of the events (Lifson, 1988). The placid Gomti flowed in a ravaged landscape where carcasses of once opulent palaces stood silently in a warren of more pedestrian buildings, all uninhabited. The Gomti had lost its splendor. A 200-metre swathe was cleared on its banks around Macchi Bhavan (partly demolished) and it became the focal point of three 50-metre wide roads built by Robert Napier, a military engineer in charge of rebuilding Lucknow. This urban surgery, in a bid to quell any further uprising through rapid movement of troops, not only opened up the Nawabi palace interiors to public gaze but also moved traffic away from the river towards the south where a new cantonment was built next to the Railway Station (Oldenburg, 1984). The centre of power had obviously shifted from the riverfront although many Nawabi buildings on the riverfront continued to exist and over time were occupied by new owners. However, most river entrances and water gates became obsolete with lack...