Lucknow. After his release from Fort William, he was allotted a building called BNR House in Garden Reach near the headquarter of South Eastern Railway, Calcutta. In those days, it is said, it was called Parikhana. However, heartbroken after leaving Lucknow, he had carried his dear city in his heart and proceeded to carve out a miniature of Lucknow in Metiabruz. In his exile in Metiabruz, he tried to keep the sweet memories of his Lucknow era alive by recreating the musical environments of his Kaisarbagh Baradari. The banished king had been "given" a number of fine houses with vast grounds stretching along the banks of the river Hooghly three to four miles south of Kolkata. Because of the presence there of an earthen dome (or raised platform), people would refer to it as Matiya Burj. The king spent lavishly out of his income of 12 lakhs (or, 1.2 million) rupees per annum and before long a "second Lucknow" arose in this area. Legacy: "Babul Mora" Thumri His bhairavi thumri Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Jaay has been sung by several prominent singers, but a particularly popular rendition remembered today was performed by Kundan Lal Saigal for the 1930s movie Street Singer. bābul morā naihar chhūṭo hī jāye O My father! I'm leaving home. chār kahār mil, morī ḍoliyā uṭhāeṃ The four bearers lift my palanquin. morā apnā bigānā chhūṭo jāye. I am leaving those who were my own. āngan to parbat bhayo aur dehrī bhayī bidesh Your courtyard is now like a mountain, and the threshold, a foreign country. jāye bābul ghar āpnoṃ meṃ chalī pīyā ke desh I leave your house, father, I am going to my beloved. In popular culture In Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khilari, Wajid Ali Shah is shown as a very enthusiastic patron of dance and music. The role was played by Amjad Khan. Muzaffar Ali made an Indian television series, Jaan e Alam'', about Wajid Ali Shah and his queen. Ali played the role of Shah himself while Zarina Wahab essayed the role of his wife. References External links National Informatics Centre, Lucknow – Rulers of Awadh Much of the content here has been extracted from an article by Susheela Mishra. "Awadh Under my Wajid Ali Shah", Dr. G.D. Bhatnagar "Wajid Ali Shah: The Tragic King", Ranbir Sinh Baabul Moraa Wajid Ali Shah: The Naturalist King by Shakunt Pandey Nawabs of India 1822 births