Last week, I had been to Lucknow (the capital city of Uttar Pradesh) to attend one of my close pal's marriage.It is interesting to explore places, traditions and customs in general, and in India, you find a variety of it. Each state,pretty much, has got it's own language (almost), culture, customs and traditions.We got some time to explore the places in Lucknow and we were taken to a place named "Bara Imambara" - a shrine built by Shia Muslims (I didn't know what it means when I visited the place but got to know of it from wikipedia !).My first impression at the shrine (it looks more like a fort than a shrine, though) was that it's a big construction, just another archealogical piece left to us by Nawabs !! I realized that my knowledge is meagre, so is the information that is available over there about the monument !
Some of the highlights of "Bara Imambara" are :-
The Great Imambara or the Bada Imambara has a central hall, one of the largest vaulted galleries in the world, beneath which many underground passages are present. Any pillars or any other supports do not support the main hall, which is over 50 feet in height. The roof has been put together with interlocking bricks without using a beam or a girder. 
The upper floor, Bhulbhulaiya, is also famous as a fantastic labyrinth. It is believed that a stranger cannot come out of this maze without any assistance from some expert guide. It is possibly the only existing maze in India and came about unintenionally to support the weight of the building, constructed on marshy land.- The design of the Imambara was obtained through a competitive process. The winner was an architect Kifayatullah, who also lies buried in the main hall of the Imambara. It is another unique aspect of the building where the sponsor and the architect lie buried besides each other.
I wish the Archealogical Survey of India wakes up atleast now to get some literature available to the visitors of these historical pieces and let them appreciate their greatness !
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