Gracefully Whimsical: Architecture and Embellishment in Lucknow's Galis
Documenting the architectural evolution of Lucknow’s narrow lanes and bylanes.
ReadAn arch with elaborate stucco, displaying Indo-European motifs , over a doorway, in Mirza Mandi. (2024)Lucknow Bioscope
Tucked away behind the city’s grand facades, Lucknow’s gali-kooche whisper stories through lime-washed walls, carved wooden balconies, and shaded courtyards. These narrow lanes are living archives of architectural evolution, where Indo-Islamic arches meet colonial cornices, and Art Deco facades sit beside fading temple reliefs.
The running verandah of a building in Batashe wale Gali (2024)Lucknow Bioscope
In Batashey Wali Gali, jharokhas jut out above busy streets, while Rastogi Tola’s turquoise jalis and custard apple motifs nod to Art Nouveau’s ornamental flair. Much of this heritage is in need of preservation.
An arch with elegant floral motifs over a wooden door in Mirza Mandi. (2024)Lucknow Bioscope
But beyond styles, it’s the elements that shape life here, chabutras where neighbours gather, chajjahs that shield and ornament, verandahs that blur public and private. The courtyard, often hidden from view, remains the quiet heart of many homes, holding rituals, seasons, and stories alike.
1. Indo-Islamic and Nawabi Influences
The lanes of Lucknow are a canvas for Indo-Islamic and Nawabi architectural styles, characterised by arched doorways, scalloped niches, delicate jaalis, and decorative parapets. The use of lakhauri bricks, lime plaster, and floral stucco work reveals a materiality designed to suit both climate and craft.
Many homes in older galis, such as Maulviganj and Chowk, were constructed with a deep sense of spatial intimacy, narrow facades opening into layered interiors with courtyards, allowing for airflow, privacy, and community interaction. Ornamented arches and mehrab-inspired niches often frame doors and windows, recalling Mughal lineage while embracing regional reinterpretations.
2. Hindu Temple and Rajputana Influences
Lucknow’s galis occasionally spring a surprise with structures influenced by Hindu temple and Rajputana architectural traditions. These are often evident in motifs, lotus brackets, peacock carvings, miniature shrines, or balconies with tapering spindles resembling temple mandapas.
Such styles reflect the layers of Lucknow’s syncretic heritage, where Hindu merchant families, temple caretakers, and craft communities integrated their aesthetic vocabulary into domestic and semi-public spaces. The presence of carved lintels, stepped plinths, or miniature temples embedded into house facades speaks to the everyday sacredness that shaped life in the galis.
These influences also manifest in brightly painted exteriors, lime-washed walls adorned with hand-painted borders, and symbolic relief work, especially in areas like Raja Bazar and Narhi. Here, spatial planning also echoes temple town logic: narrow alleyways open into chabutras or courtyard nodes, reminiscent of temple precincts.
3. Colonial Architecture
Lucknow’s galis, especially in areas like Aminabad, Hazratganj, and Lalbagh, bear witness to the colonial vernacular style born from the negotiation between British planning ideals and local craftspersonship, and a conversation between empire and artisanship. The result being buildings with symmetrical layouts, arched windows, brick cornices, and louvered shutters, often painted in deep greens or colonial blues.
After 1857 many local elites adopted colonial aesthetics in their homes. Artisans infused colonial forms with traditional elements, mixing jaali windows, floral brackets, and hybrid balconies. Key features include segmented or semi-circular arches, ventilated attics, and sloped tiled roofs, suited to Lucknow’s climate. Verandahs with cast iron railings and wooden pergolas became thresholds between the street and the home, allowing passive cooling and casual interactions.
4. Art Deco
In the quieter corners of Raja Bazar, Yahiyaganj, and Nishatganj, one might stumble upon facades with stepped forms, vertical fins, and sunburst motifs, hallmarks of Art Deco. Introduced in India during the 1930s. Art Deco found a distinct voice in Lucknow’s galis, shaped by local builders and merchant patrons who desired modernity with flair.
Lucknow’s Art Deco is subtle, often confined to door lintels, balcony railings, or façade mouldings. Cement typography on homes, naming them “Vijay Niwas” or “Bhagvat Bhavan”, is a signature feature, sometimes flanked by parallel stucco lines or stylised floral elements . These buildings signify upward mobility, the embrace of new technology, and a desire to signal progress through built form.
5. Art Nouveau
Graceful tendrils, floral swirls, and mythological reliefs hidden in stucco signal the fleeting yet striking presence of Art Nouveau in Lucknow’s built landscape. Art Nouveau celebrates curves, organic patterns, and decorative elegance. It found its way into Lucknow through merchant homes and the artistic leanings of certain elite families in areas like Rastogi Tola and Aminabad.
In Batashey Wali Gali and Sharifey Wali Kothi, one can spot leafy brackets, guardian-angel chajjah supports, and fluid bas-reliefs that evoke nature’s rhythm. This ornamental vocabulary often blended seamlessly with vernacular planning, balconies, jharokhas, and wooden shutters that were transformed into sculptural compositions.
A documentation of the architectural styles and elements of the Gali Kooche of Lucknow.
Documentation
Tauheed Haider
Photography
Anshubhi Singh
Ayan Bose
