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| Umrao Jaan is in news, again | | Her grave has no epitaph, no flowers | |
B L KAK
NEW DELHI, NOV 19
India's VIPs, including Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, BJP stalwarts, Atal Behari Vajpayee and LK Advani, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, have watched the recently-released Bollywood film on Umrao Jaan, a courtesan and a poetess in the 19th century Lucknow.
In life, Umrao Jaan had the whole of Awadh, an Indian province, at her feet. In death, she rests alone. In life, she craved for the love of her life, Nawab Sultan; in death, she seeks peace. Umrao Jaan 'Ada' has spawned a novel, which in turn set off two Bollywood filmmakers to showcase her life on the silver screen. But, in old Lucknow, where she was buried, Umrao Jaan has few visitors. Her grave has no epitaph, no flowers.
Some analysts say that if Lucknow is heart of Awadh, she is its heartbeat. But, now even her tombstone has fallen prey to encroachment. Only a part of it is visible. The rest has been covered by a cemented road that leads to the Imam-e-Ali Rauza, the replica of the tomb of Ali, the eighth Imam of the Shiites.
After Umrao Jaan returned to screen last week, there has been a renewed interest in her life, first documented by Mirza Mohammad Hadi Ruswa in his novel Umrao Jaan Ada. Years later Rekha immortalised the character in Muzaffar Ali's 1981 film. But all the attention has failed to preserve her grave. The Azimullah-e-Karbala, built by Azimullah Khan, the wazir of Mohammad Ali Shah, who was killed by the British rulers in Gwalior during the 1857 Revolt, houses the grave of Umrao Jaan and is now looked after by Azimullah's descendants.
Azimullah's grandson, Nawab Hashim Ali Khan, has been quoted as saying: "It is a shame that while both Muzaffar Ali and JP Dutta have made millions from their film on the life and times of this great courtesan, they have not even bothered to come and visit her grave even once. In fact, they should have done something for the upkeep of her grave."
Lucknow city has not taken too kindly to JP Dutta's take on Umrao Jaan. A local woman activist, Asmat Begum, has been reported to have observed: "Umrao Jaan has been shown taking a bath in a swimming pool. This is ridiculous. She was a purdah-nashin woman and never even ventured out near the lake. To show her taking a bath in the open is scandalous. In olden days, children used to be sent to the kothas to learn tehzeeb, nafasat and nazakat (etiquette and discipline), not to learn vulgarism."
There are many more who are questioning the film's authenticity. Nawab Azam Ali Khan, another descendant of Azimullah Khan and the convenor of Azimullah Khan Memorial Society, has gone on record as saying :"Abhishekh Bachchan is shown wearing a pagdi, which no Nawab ever did. This kind of pagdi was worn by chowkidars." |
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