Hooghly Imambara

{{Short description|Shia Islam mosque in Hooghly, West Bengal, India}}

{{Infobox religious building

| name = Hooghly Imambara

| image = Courtyard - Imambara - Chinsurah - Hooghly - 2013-05-19 7838.JPG

| image_upright = 1.4

| alt =

| caption = Main façade and clocktower of the imambara

| map_type = India West Bengal

| map_size = 250

| map_alt =

| map_relief = 1

| map_caption = Location of the imambara in West Bengal

| coordinates ={{coord|22|54|30|N|88|24|00|E|region:IN-WB_type:landmark|display=title,inline}}

| coordinates_footnotes =

| religious_affiliation = Shia (Twelver)

| locale =

| location = Hooghly, Hooghly district, West Bengal

| deity =

| rite =

| sect =

| tradition =

| festival =

| country = India

| administration =

| consecration_year =

| organisational_status = Mosque and Imambara

| functional_status = Active

| heritage_designation =

| ownership =

| governing_body =

| leadership =

| bhattaraka =

| patron =

| religious_features_label =

| religious_features =

| architect =

| architecture_type = {{nowrap|Mosque architecture}}

| architecture_style = Indo-Islamic

| founded_by = Muhammad Mohsin

| creator =

| funded_by =

| general_contractor =

| established =

| groundbreaking = 1841

| year_completed = 1861

| construction_cost =

| date_demolished =

| facade_direction =

| capacity =

| length =

| width =

| width_nave =

| interior_area =

| height_max =

| dome_quantity =

| dome_height_outer =

| dome_height_inner =

| dome_dia_outer =

| dome_dia_inner =

| minaret_quantity =

| minaret_height =

| spire_quantity =

| spire_height =

| site_area =

| temple_quantity =

| monument_quantity =

| shrine_quantity =

| inscriptions =

| materials =

| elevation_m =

| elevation_footnotes =

| nrhp =

| designated =

| added =

| refnum =

| footnotes =

| website = {{URL|hooghlyimambargah.com}}

}}

The Hooghly Imambara is a Twelver Shia congregation hall and mosque, located in Hooghly, in the state of West Bengal, India.{{cite journal |author=Mukherjee, Sreecheta |title=Hazi Muhammad Mohsin's Hooghly Imambara: a Tale of Diminishing Glory |journal=Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design |year=2011 |volume=1 |issue=3 |url=http://www.chitrolekha.com/V1/n3/04_Mohsin_Hooghly_Imambara.pdf |access-date=17 February 2013}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.hooghlyimambargah.com/ |title=Hooghly Imambargah |access-date=3 February 2018 |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221044847/http://www.hooghlyimambargah.com/ |url-status=dead }}[http://imambarahhooghlycommitteeofmanagement.com/ Haji Mohammed Mohsin Waqf Estate] The construction of the building was started by Muhammad Mohsin in 1841 and completed in 1861.{{cite news |title=Next weekend you can be at … Hooghly |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060226/asp/calcutta/story_5896005.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927165608/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060226/asp/calcutta/story_5896005.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 September 2013 |access-date=17 February 2013 |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=26 February 2006}} The building is a two-storied structure, with a tall clock tower over the entrance gate. The mosque has intricate designs and texts from Quran engraved on the wall. The interior of the mosque is decorated with marbles, candles and hanging lanterns.

Clock

File:Hooghly Imambara, in and outside views 20.jpg

The Hooghly Imambara is famous for its vaunted clock. It is at the middle of the twin towers constructed on the doorway of the main entrance. Each tower, is approximately {{convert|150|ft|m|order=flip}} high, with 152 steps to reach to its top. The clock has two dials with three bells that weigh 80 mds{{clarify|date=March 2025|reason=What is/are mds?}}, 40 mds and 30 mds. Smaller bells ring at an interval of 15 minutes and larger bell rings to signify one hour. The clock requires two people to wind it for half an hour of each week, with a key that weighs {{convert|20|kg}}. The clock was bought for Rs. 11,721 (in 1852) by Syed Keramat Ali from the manufacturer: M/s Black & Hurray Co., Big Ben, London.{{Citation |last=Pinakpani|title=English: Hooghly Imambara, congregation hall and mosque in Hooghly, West Bengal |date=2021-11-28 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hooghly_Imambara,_in_and_outside_views_01.jpg |access-date=2021-11-28}}

Accessibility

People who come from Kolkata typically to take a train to Naihati Junction railway station, and then they catch the Bandel local train to the Hooghly Ghat station. From there, the Imambara is a short walking distance. There are rickshaws and autos to ferry visitors to the Imambara from the station.

An alternative is to access the Imambara via Howrah railway station and access the straight trains (local EMUs), which are more frequent and less crowded, to Bandel. From the Hooghly railway station, autos, totos, and rickshaws provide easy access to the Imambara.