Guides spar over dress code of imambara visitors

LUCKNOW: The return of tourists to the 231-year-old Nawabi moument Bada Imambara was accompanied by an unwelcome squabble between guides over the attire of some visitors on Saturday. The monument had opened 23 days after a lockout in protest by Shia community members. On Saturday, there was impressive turnout of tourists and besides the argument the transit back to business was peaceful.Around 1,300 persons visited the Nawabi monument on Saturday, including five foreign tourists. Rs 66,200 were collected at the window selling tickets.
Following strict warning by the Shia community to maintain religious sanctity of the imambara, visitors were being asked to cover their heads and guides were also providing stoles to women to cover up. A scuffle took place among the guides, when one of them questioned other guides why a foreign tourist in skirt was being let into the imambara, while entry of an Indian visitor in similar attire was being restricted.
“Tourists coming in should maintain the religious sanctity of the Imambara, like in the case of other monuments and masjids in Delhi and other cities. We are trying our best to check tourists at our level,” said Ali, a guide at the imambara. “This has been a long pending demand, we guides and others too have been raising and it is not asking for too much,” added another elderly guide.
As a beeline of tourists formed at the ticket counter, in the otherwise mundane month of Ramzan for tourist activity, Husainabad & Allied Trust (HAT) had provided its team of guides long cotton stoles to hand over to female tourists so that they covered up before entering the two main halls.
Several tourists felt awkward being told by men to cover their heads, while others had come in already covered. Running behind a young girl to ask her to keep the cloth on her head, another guide Nizam repeated the instructions. Her parents on the other hand chided her for not being careful. “I came to Lucknow this morning from Bangalore. Since I have my extended family living in Lucknow, I had been following the imambara issue. When I read this morning that gates had been unlocked last night, imambara was the first place I came to, reliving my childhood memories of this grand place. I came with a stole to cover my head and it was no big issue for me as it doesn't hurt to maintain harmony,” said Shabeen Faruqi.