Manzilat’s great-grandfather did
On most evenings, Manzilat Fatima’s rooftop restaurant in South Kolkata, aptly named Manzilat’s, is packed with food connoisseurs waiting to taste the incredible dishes she prepares for them. But there is another reason foodies climb four flights of stairs to her quaint little eatery.
What Manzilat does, is nothing short of remarkable. Not only does she tantalize the tastebuds of food lovers with exceptional dishes such as Chicken Lazeez Shami Kebab, Lakhnavi Murgh Biryani, or the famed Lakhnawi Mutton Yakhni Pulav – but she also evocatively creates a bridge between the present and the royal past of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh.
Manzilat Fatima is the great-great granddaughter of the Nawab who made his home in Kolkata after the British East India Company annexed his kingdom. He gave the culinary world the famed aloo in Biryani.
A descendant of Awadh
“I am a direct descendent of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal,” Manzilat reveals.
After the annexation, her great, great grandmother Begum Hazrat Mahal who took charge of Awadh, put her son Birjis Qadr on the throne in 1857. Birjis Qudr was the son of Jaan e Alam Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal.
Manzilat is the daughter of Dr. Kaukub Qudr Meerza, the grandson of Birjis Qudr, she explains.
Like her pantry, stocked with delectable food, Manzilat is a storehouse of stories and fascinating history.
A conspiracy at play
According to Manzilat, despite having no inheritance, Birjs was still the legal heir of Wajid Ali Shah and Begum Hazrat Mahal.
“Birjs Qadr had a son Mehr Qadr who was my grandfather,” adds Manzilat. “He did not have any siblings growing up. He did have a family, but they were assassinated in cold blood on August 14, 1893.”
Manzilat says that the British invited Mehr Quadr from Kathmandu to Calcutta under a false pretext. “The other descendants of the Awadh royal family wanted to snuff out the last crown king, even though there was nothing to inherit by then.”
There was a deeper conspiracy at play.
A poisoned dinner
“In order to snuff out this branch they cooked up a conspiracy along with the British and invited him and his family over for dinner where they laced the food with poison. In that tragedy, he, along with a son and daughter as well as his guards and dogs were murdered.”
Only Mehr Quadr’s wife, Mehtab Ara Begum, survived. She was pregnant with Manzilat’s grandfather and did not attend the dinner. “Had she gone for the dinner, the entire course of history would perhaps have been different,” says Manzilat.
Her grandmother, Mehtab Ara Begum, survived along with an unborn child – Manzilat’s father- and a daughter who was four years old at that time. The little girl grew up and married, but died childless. But the lineage of Wajid Ali Shah continued through Mehr Qadr and Manzilat’s father Kaukub Qudr Meerza.
“My lineage shaped me into a very loyal Indian,” she says. “We grew up hearing stories of valor of Begum Hazrat Mahal and Birjs Qadr and how, after 1857, (she) chose to live free in Kathmandu, Nepal. Our history helped us be grounded and honest. We learned the art of sacrifice.”
From lawyer to chef
Growing up, Manzilat heard stories about the tragedy and the conspiracy that destroyed her family – from their time in Lucknow until Birjs Qadr’s assassination, and how her grandfather was protected and grew up very sheltered because of the constant threat to his life.
Being a chef was not always the game plan. Manzilat studied at Aligarh Public School and graduated with an English (Hons) degree from Women’s College, Aligarh Muslim University. She enrolled at Calcutta University for her Master’s in English and a few years after her marriage, even completed a five-year LL.B course in 2002.
Manzilat opened the doors to her kitchen to food lovers from all over the world. As the smoke rises from her tender Mutton Awadhi Galwtii Kebab, or tear-drop-shaped condensation rolls down her chilled Khus ka sherbet, or even as patrons savor the pillowy soft aloo in their biryani, Manzilat knows that she has not only served some delectable dishes but offered her guests a panoramic view into the world of her ancestors and what they stood for – the mighty Wajid Ali Shah, the indomitable Begum Hazrat Mahal.
In the fragrant aroma of her kitchen, Manzilat Fatima is the custodian of the legacy of the last Nawab of Awadh. Her guests experience more than just culinary delights; they immerse themselves in a narrative of courage, tradition, and the enduring spirit of Awadh.