Bahu Begum & the poignant ruins of Awadh’s first capital, Faizabad

Faizabad the first capital of Awadh, still bears some of the royal look of a capital. However it took Muzaffar Ali’s splendid film, Umrao Jaan, to make me want to know more about the city. In this film Amiran, a young girl, is shown being kidnapped as a child from her home in Faizabad. When she returns as Umrao Jaan — singer, dancer and poet — she is shunned by her family. It now seems as though Faizabad’s history is much like the legend of Umrao Jaan, whose name and presence was forgotten by her family. The ancient city of Faizabad also appears to have met the same fate. It first lost out to Lucknow as the capital of Awadh and now it has lost its name. One wonders what will happen to the splendid structures and gardens that still remain to remind us of Faizabad... will they be looked after or just fade into ruins?

This is the story of Faizabad as it was in 1722, when the Mughal court gave Nawab Saadat Ali Khan the charge of Awadh. Saadat Khan made the first settlements near Ayodhya on the banks of the River Ghaghra — including a fortress, his palace and his cantonment full of mud structures, naming it Faizabad — the capital of Awadh. Fortunately for us, painter William Hodges and the Daniel brothers have left splendid prints dated 1787 to give us glimpses of Faizabad’s fortress and its surroundings.

Born Muhammad Amin Musawi, Saadat Khan had a wealthy merchant as a grandfather and a father who became a prominent official during the rule of Bahadur Shah 1. The “Subah of Awadh” was under his charge and included the districts of Khalilabad, Faizabad, Gorakhpur, Bahraich and Lucknow — this was a province that stretched to the Himalayas in the north, Bihar in the east, till Kara Manikpur (Allahabad province) in the south and Kannauj in the west. A total area that covered 10, 171,080 bigha of land.    

Prior to Nawab Saadat Khan’s arrival, there was continuous friction between zamindars and jagirdars. Within a short while however, Saadat Khan was able to bring peace among them and through his capable management, the state’s income rose from seven million to 20 million. Needless to say, Muhammad Shah was very pleased with his work and gave him the title of “Burhan-ul-Mulk”. He was also able to enlarge the state boundary on the eastern front by taking over Benaras, Jaunpur, Ghazipur and Chunar.

Saadat Khan, one of the Mughal generals in the battle of Karnal against Nadir Shah, was captured during the battle He died on the night prior to what is known as the ‘Massacre of Delhi’ by Nadir Shah on March 19, 1739, and is buried in the mausoleum of his brother Sayadat Khan. Saadat Khan’s only child, a daughter, was married to his nephew Abul Mansur Khan — better known as Nawab Safdarjung. He was the second ruler of Awadh and added to the development of Faizabad, making it the military headquarters. Safdarjung spent a major part of his rule in Delhi and after his death at the young age of 45 years in 1754, was buried at the majestic Safdarjung Tomb located in New Delhi.

Nawab Safdarjung’s successor Nawab Shuja-ud-daula, the third Nawab of Awadh developed Faizabad into what we would consider a perfect capital — with the necessary roads, splendid buildings, mosques, makbaras, bazaars and royal palaces with splendid gardens. The city became busy and a centre for trade, attracting travellers of all kinds from Europe and Asia. These included merchants for trade, writers, poets, artists, dancers and singers.

Shuja-ud-Daula, Safdarjung’s son and heir, had chosen Lucknow as his capital, but was persuaded to return to Faizabad after being defeated by the British in the Battle of Buxar in 1764. He decided that if Faizabad was to be his capital, he needed to add many new structures including another fortress. The new fort that he built on the banks of the Saryu river was popularly referred to as Chhota Calcutta. It seems strange that Shuja-ud-Daulah chose to call it “Fort Calcutta” — perhaps this may have been a ruse to humour the British, who had demanded a large sum of money from him. Since he did not have the necessary funds, his wife, popularly known as Bahu Begum, came to his rescue, by pawning her dowry.

Other important structures built during Shuja-ud-Daula’s period, include the Chowk, Tirpaulia and numerous gardens. Many of these were built by Bahu Begum, who he married in 1743. A dignified personality, Bahu Begum was also a strong support to her husband. It was with her prompting that he was able to face many problems. She was a woman of great distinction and rank, and most of the older buildings of Faizabad are attributed to her. Among these structures and gardens, there was the Anguribagh and the Motibagh in the south and the Asafbagh and Bulandbagh to the west of the city. Among the important buildings worth seeing are Gulab Bari and Moti Mahal, appreciated for their interesting architectural styles. It is because of these beautiful structures and gardens that gave Faizabad a prosperous look under Shuja-ud-Daula. One of its most visited and majestic structures is the tomb of Bahu Begum built at a cost of
Rs 3 lakhs.

Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula, the son of Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula, was the fourth Nawab of Awadh. He, like his father, also preferred Lucknow and shifted Awadh’s capital from Faizabad to Lucknow in 1775. It has been said that he decided to leave Faizabad, to distance himself from his dominant mother — Bahu Begum, who had begun interfering in his work after his father’s death.

Asaf-ud-Daula, the fourth Nawab, was totally different from all the three previous rulers of Awadh. A keen lover of art in general, Asaf-ud-Daula is famous for his lyrics and composition. When forced to abdicate, while travelling to Calcutta with his whole retinue, he wrote a very special song that was first recorded and made popular, by the famous singer K.L. Sehgal. The song, “Babul Mora”, is sung by famous performers till today.

Bahu Begum who died in 1816, continued to live at Faizabad till her death at the age of 86.

Her beautiful maqbara at Jawaharbagh is considered to be one of the finest buildings of its kind in Awadh. From the date of Bahu Begum’s death in 1815 and the subsequent annexation of Awadh, began the slow and steady decline of Faizabad.

The writer is an author, a professional communicator and an intrepid traveller