Kaukab Quder Sajjad Ali Meerza (also Dr M Kaukab) was an Indian scholar of the Urdu language [1]
A specialist in the literature of Awadh State during the reign of its last Nawab, Wajid Ali Shah (1822-1887), Meerza taught Urdu at Aligarh Muslim University, retiring in 1993. [1] The Indian filmmaker, Satyajit Ray consulted with Meerza over many months during the writing of the screenplay for his 1977 award-winning film Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players), which was set in Awadh in the period immediately preceding the Indian rebellion of 1857. [2]
Meerza was an enthusiast of snooker; he refereed many tournaments and was the founder-secretary of the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India. [1]
The last pensioner in the Awadh Pension Book of 1897 established by the British Raj and honoured by the Government of India after 1947, and the only surviving great-grandson of Wajid Ali Shah, Meerza died of complications from Covid-19 at age 87 in Kolkata on September 14, 2020. [2] [1]
Awadh, known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India, now constituting the northeastern portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala region of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain scriptures.
A tawaif was a highly successful entertainer who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal era. The tawaifs excelled in and contributed to music, dance (mujra), theatre, and the Urdu literary tradition, and were considered an authority on etiquette. Tawaifs were largely a North Indian institution central to Mughal court culture from the 16th century onwards and became even more prominent with the weakening of Mughal rule in the mid-18th century. They contributed significantly to the continuation of traditional dance and music forms and then to the emergence of modern Indian cinema.
Begum Hazrat Mahal, also known as the Begum of Awadh, was the second wife of Nawab of Awadh Wajid Ali Shah, and the regent of Awadh in 1857–1858. She is known for the leading role she had in the rebellion against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Mirza Wajid Ali Shah was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856.
The Chattar Manzil, or Umbrella Palace is a building in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh which served as a palace for the rulers of Awadh and their wives.
The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an Iranian dynasty of Sayyid origin from Nishapur, Iran. In 1724, Nawab Sa'adat Khan established the Oudh State with their capital in Faizabad and Lucknow.
Shatranj Ke Khilari, also subtitled and later internationally released with the translated title The Chess Players, is a 1977 Indian film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand's short story of the same name. Amjad Khan plays the role of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, Nawab of Awadh, and Richard Attenborough enacts the role of General James Outram. The main cast includes actors Sanjeev Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey as the chess players. It also has Shabana Azmi, Farooque Shaikh, Farida Jalal, David Abraham, and Tom Alter. It has Amitabh Bachchan as the narrator. This is the only full-length Hindi feature film of filmmaker Satyajit Ray. He later made a short Hindi film for TV named Sadgati, another adaptation of Munshi Premchand's short story.
Amjad Ali Shah was the fourth King of Oudh from 7 May 1842 to 13 February 1847.
Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan, earlier known as Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens or popularly known as Lucknow Zoological Garden, and Banaarsi Baag, is a 71.6-acre (29.0 ha) zoo located in the heart of the capital city of Uttar Pradesh named after Wajid Ali Shah - the last Nawab of Awadh. According to the Central Zoo Authority of India, it is a large zoo. The Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens, was established in the year 1921 to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales to Lucknow. The idea of establishing Zoological gardens at Lucknow emanated from Sir Harcourt Butler, the Governor of the State.
Birjis Qadr was the Nawab of Awadh from 1857 until 1858.
Qaisarbagh, also spelled Qaiserbagh, Kaisarbagh or Kaiserbagh, is a complex in the city of Lucknow, located in the Awadh region of India. It was built by Wajid Ali Shah (1847-1856), the last Nawab of Awadh. The campaigning Irish journalist William Howard Russell wrote a classic account of the looting of the Qaisar Bagh in 1858 by drunken British troops in the course of the Great Uprising/Indian Mutiny. A kiosk from the Qaisar Bagh gardens was sent to England as a tribute for Queen Victoria and now stands in the Frogmore Gardens at Windsor Castle.
Waris Ali Shah (1817–1905) was a Sufi saint from Dewa, Barabanki, India, and the founder of the Warsi Sufi order. He traveled to many places specially Europe and the west and admitted people to his spiritual order. He belongs to the 26th generation of Hazrat Imam Hussain A.S His shrine is at Dewa, India.
The Naqqal are a Muslim community found in the state of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in India. They are also known as the Kashmiri Bhand and recently as Kashmiri Shaikh. The Naqqal are a sub-group within the larger Bhand community.
Agha Hasan Amanat was an Indian Urdu poet, writer and playwright of the nineteenth century from the city of Lucknow. He was affiliated with the court of Wajid Ali Shah, the princely ruler of Awadh. His name was Agha Hasan Ali, while "Amanat" was his nom de plume. He is also referred to as Amanat Lakhnavi and Mirza Amanat.
The Safed Baradari, is a white marbled building in Lucknow Uttar Pradesh, India.
Malcha Mahal, also known as Wilayat Mahal, is a Tughlak era hunting lodge in the Chanakyapuri area of New Delhi, India next to the Delhi Earth Station of the Indian Space Research Organisation. It was built by Firuz Shah Tughlaq, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi, in 1325. It came to be known as Wilayat Mahal after the self-proclaimed "Begum Wilayat Mahal" of Awadh, who claimed to be a member of the Royal family of Oudh and was reportedly given the place by the Government of India in May 1985. On 10 September 1993, Wilayat died by suicide at the age of 62. The descendants of Wazid Ali Shah in Lucknow claim that the family engaged in fraudulent activities, having been cited by an investigative journalist for the New York Times.
The Oudh State was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of the state, also written historically as Oudhe.
Garden Reach is a neighbourhood of Kolkata city in West Bengal, India. It is situated in the south-western part of Kolkata near the bank of the Hooghly River. It is located to the north-east of Maheshtala, the west of Kidderpore and the north of Taratala and Behala. Localities within Garden Reach include Metiabruz, BNR Colony, Bartala, Bandhabartala, Badartala and Rajabagan.
Syed Sahil Agha Born: 1984 is a writer, author, and storyteller from New Delhi, India who specialized in the verbal art of dastangoi.
Taj Khan was an Indian and Nepali Hindustani Classical musician trained in the Kalpi tradition of Dhrupad. He is known for being the foremost luminary of Dhrupad and Dhamar in the Nepal Court during the 19th and 20th Centuries. Khan was also a court musician of Wajid Ali Shah in Awadh and Metiabruz.