Sikandar Bagh is a garden and a villa enclosed in a wall with a gateway, loopholes, and corner bastions. It lies in Lucknow city, in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh.

The National Botanical Research Institute of India is in Sikandar Bagh.

History

Nawab Saadat Ali Khan laid out Sikandar Bagh in 1800. It was created completely by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Lucknow, as a summer villa. It is not clear whether the name of the Bagh was inspired by Alexander the Great or by the Nawab’s favorite wife Sikandar Mahal Begum. However, it is believed that it is the latter.

Sikandar Bagh is a witness to a merciless massacre by the British in 1857 during the Indian Mutiny when the war of independence was in full swing. About 2200 Indian sepoy mutineers were slaughtered within the walls of this garden. Historians call it the fiercest of all battles of independence. It happened on November 16, 1857.

According to historical reports, the number of Victoria Crosses awarded for that day was more than ever; many were for the assault in the Bagh.

Items like swords, shields, cannonballs, parts of rifles and muskets, and others were dug out from Sikandar Bagh by archeologists over the years. They are now exhibited in the National Botanical Research Institute Exhibition. Visitors can still see scars on old walls of the Bagh. They were made by cannon balls fired by the British. They speak about that ruthless and fateful day.

Yet another thing that reminds visitors of the slaughter is the statue of a Parsi lady, Uda Devi. It was erected a few years ago in the Bagh’s old campus. According to reports, this lady was one of the fighters among the mutineers. She dressed herself as a male. Perched atop a tree, she bravely kept the British attackers away through her gun until she exhausted her ammunition and dropped dead on the ground with bullets all over her body.

Legend says that Uda Devi was a female bodyguard of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. She was known to be a fearless, dedicated, and well-trained fighter who stunned the British by her battle skills and attained martyrdom gallantly.

Architecture

Sikandar Bagh features a small pavilion or baradari in the center. This is believed to the spot where the Nawab conducted performances of Kathak dances, ‘Ras leelas’, music and poetic ‘mehfils’, and other recreational and cultural events. The Nawab, himself a poet, was fond of these things.

Historical reports say that Sikandar Bagh was created at a cost of more than 5 lakhs. The Bagh is sprawled on 187 square meters of land. It encompasses a wooden pavilion, summer palace, and a small mosque. The Bagh is high walled and has three huge gateways on three sides. One of them faces the Gomti River.

The walls of the Bagh feature festoon-like concave depression at fixed intervals throughout the boundary. Today, tourists can find only one gateway out of three. The intact one faces the Rana Pratap Marg. The rest were bombarded by the British during the slaughter.

The gateway features a motif depicting a pair of fish. The gateway is a peculiar structure displaying unique style of Chinese, European, Persian, and Indian architecture. There are chhattris, pagodas, pediments, arches, and Corinthian pillars, all in one structure.

The inside of the structure is also well preserved. It features frescos with intricate foliage designs that are similar to Lucknow’s famous chikan embroidery. It is the work of the Nawab’s court painter, Kashi Ram. There is also delicate artwork on the border and beneath the pagodas, canopies, and chhattris.

Best Time to Visit

Months from September to March are ideal to come to Lucknow city. Summers are too hot here.

How to Reach

Lucknow is well connected to all main cities of Uttar Pradesh and to the Capital of India through rail, road, and air. It is the city of Nawabs and gardens, of ‘tameez’ (fine deportment) and ‘tehzeeb’ (culture).