General Wali Kothi

General Wali Kothi
तारा वाली कोठी
Tara Khothe or Star house in 1874 by Darogha Ubbas Alli
Interactive map of the General Wali Kothi area
Alternative names	Star House
General information
Location	Lucknow, India
Coordinates	26°51′13.4″N80°56′23.3″E / 26.853722°N 80.939806°E / 26.853722; 80.939806
Current tenants	State Bank of India
Construction started	1832
Opened	1841

General Wali Kothi was an observatory commissioned in 1832 by King of Oudh Nasir-ud-Din Haidar Shah. ^[1] It was not functional until 1841 when Colonel Richard Wilcox, a Royal Astronomer, was appointed.

It contained several excellent instruments. On the death of Wilcox in 1847, the establishment was dismissed, and the instruments disappeared during the Mutiny. It was said that once a brass pillar stood in central chamber through the roof.

History

The building was the headquarters of the Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah of Faizabad during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and the insurgent council frequently held its meetings there. ^[2] Later it was occupied by the Imperial Bank of India, being restored for use as a bank but, in October 1923, it was flooded for 15 days. Mr. Davis then the occupant bank manager, his staff and clients used boats to ferry them back and forth. Some years later, it was used for as a local court of civil justice. later it was occupied by the Imperial Bank of India (now, State Bank of India), and became the bank's headquarters in 1923. ^[3] Now it is a SBI branch head office. ^[3]

Martin Gubbins described it as a handsome classical design building, protected by a regular guard of native infantry.^{[ citation needed ]}

Lucknow, viewed from the Observatory, Illustrated London News

See also

• List of astronomical observatories

References

1. "Nasir". 10 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
2. "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 16, page 190 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". Dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
3. Kirti, Khushbu (5 March 2023). "From a royal observatory to SBI branch: Know all about the 190-yr-old Tare Wali Kothi in Lucknow".

External links

• Media related to General Wali Kothi at Wikimedia Commons
• "Lucknow - Tare wali Kothi". Lucknow.me. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
• "The Majestic Kothis of Lucknow". Lucknowpulse.com. 28 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.