Chhota Imambara || लखनऊ का छोटा इमाम बाड़ा || Lucknow, India

Chhota Imambara || लखनऊ का छोटा इमाम बाड़ा || Lucknow, India Chota Imambara, also known as Chhota Imambara, or Imambara Hussainabad Mubarak is a monument located in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It took 54 years to build. Built as an imambara, or a congregation hall for Shia Muslims, by Muhammad Ali Shah, the Nawab of Awadh in 1838, it was to serve as a mausoleum for himself and his mother, who is buried beside him. The significance of Panjetan, the holy five, is emphasized with five main doorways. This Imambara consists of two halls and a Shehnasheen (a platform where the Zarih of Imam Husain is kept.) Zarih is the replica of that protective grill or structure which is kept on the grave of Imam Husain at Karbala, Iraq. The large green and white bordered hall of Azakhana is richly decorated with chandeliers and a good number of crystal glass lamp-stands. In fact, it was for this profuse decoration that the Imambara was referred by European visitors and writers as The Palace of Lights. The exterior is very beautifully decorated with Quranic verses in Islamic calligraphy .