Conservation Plan for the Restoration and Revitalisation of Rifa-e-Aam Club, Lucknow

Abstract

The idea of heritage as a ticketed-fenced-monument has plagued not only our society but also our administration for a long time now, which reflects in the lack of any monitoring for the „unprotected‟ living heritage structures in our cities. At present there are around 5000 monuments which are protected under ASI and around 4500 number of monuments protected by the departments of State Archaeology, which is quite evidently less for a country with the geographical stretch and historic layering like that of India. A vast majority of the heritage remains „unprotected‟, undocumented and unmonitored from the eyes of the administration and hence results in their unwarranted transformation and sometimes dereliction and decay. One of such „unprotected‟ heritage structures, which has fallen prey to the system or to the lack of it, is the Rifa-e-Aam Club, located in the Golaganj, near Qaiserbagh in Lucknow. A late eighteenth century structure, it bears strong associations to major events in history and has been patronized by strong and influential personalities such as the Taluqdars of Lucknow and also by renowned writer, Munshi Premchand. The Club is credited for being one of the earliest Public Buildings In Lucknow as well as the first Club exclusively for Indians during the British rule in Lucknow. Sadly, the structure today lies unprotected, unused and encroached, hosting a bunch of illegal activities and all this being present right in the heart of the city. The thesis intends to study the structure, document it, study the issues prevailing in the structure, and try to link the history and join the scattered links and brig it all together in one document. Also the Thesis attempts to propose a reuse which would bring back the lost glory of the structure which is highly endangered.