Lucknow: City of Illusion - The Alkazi Collection of Photography

This stunning photographic and historical journey through one of India’s most beloved cities follows the architectural evolution of important buildings and provides a unique narrative of cultural harmony and disequilibrium. The Northern Indian city of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, extends along the banks of the River Gomti. Once the center of an elaborate and highly sophisticated culture, and home to a variety of ethnic communities, Lucknow was also the sight of some of the most destructive fighting of the 1857 uprising. Many of its ornate and culturally diverse buildings were subsequently destroyed, and countless roads were rebuilt, effectively demolishing the thriving city that had once existed. This series of lovely 19th-century duotone photographs from the renowned Alkazi Collection follows the life and death of many of the city’s most important buildings. Augmented by the work of world-class historians and architects, it reveals the important connections between the two disciplines, as played out in a city that is constantly changing, and forever adding to its rich historic past.