In the footsteps of Wajid Ali Shah, Walking tour of Metiabruz

In the footsteps of Wajid Ali Shah

Walking tour of Metiabruz, an initiative of ITC Sonar, Kolkata

See also: Metiabruz Dawat, ITC Sonar, Kolkata

On 13 May 1856 a steamer, name McLeod, docked at the Bichali Ghat in Metibruz, in the southern fringes of Calcutta (now Kolkata). On board was the disposed king of Oudh (or Awadh) Wajid Ali Shah.

Group shot at the grand staircase of the Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) Office, headquarters of South Eastern Railway (SER), Garden Reach, Kolkata

Little did he know that he would never return to his capital Lucknow and it started the beginning of a home in exile.

Metiabruz Dawat, ITC Sonar, Kolkata

Metiabruz Dawat

ITC Sonar, Kolkata

A saffron flavoured  potato, along with chunks of meat, laid in a bed of saffron tinged white and yellow rice is what Kolkatawalas call a biryani. A potato in biryani may sound strange to the rest of Indians but alu has been an integral part of Kolkata Biryani for over 150 years.

Star attraction of the Metiabruz Dawat at ITC Sonar, Kolkata, Mughlai Parantha with Chicken Chap and Mutton Biryani

The story of the alu in biryani goes back to 1856 when the last Nawab of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah was deported to Kolkata (then Calcutta) by the British and settled in Metibruz area, south of Kolkata.