SHATRANJ KE KHILARI !!!

‘Hum ab shatranj kiske saath khela karenge?’ ‘Ek khilari toh majoot hain aapke saamne, kabab parathe bhi hain, khaate jaaiye khelte jaaiye.’ Mirza Sajjad Ali and Mir Roshan Ali were addicted towards the game of chess. They used to play the game of chess everyday as they had ample leisure time; after all, they were Jagirdars or Zamindars of Lucknow which was under Awadh Kingdom. Maqbool was the servant of Mirza Sajjad Ali. Maqbool’s job was to install tobacco on the hookah. In those days, the people of Lucknow used to spend lots of money on games such as kite flying competition, male hen fighting, ram fighting, Qawwali or Mujra song competition etc. Wajid Ali Shah was the Nawab of Awadh Kingdom at that time. Wajid Ali Shah had so many hobbies and passions that he hardly got any time to think about some administrative works. He used to offer prayer to Allah for 5 times a day. He used to enjoy court dancers as his temporary wives. Sometimes for 1 or 2 times in a month, Wajid Ali Shah used to conduct meetings with his ministers at his court. 

‘Unhe hukumat karna pasand naa sahi, apna Taj behat pasand tha.’ 5 years back, Wajid Ali Shah sent his crown at an exhibition in London. After seeing that crown in the exhibition in London, Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor General of India remarked, ‘That is a cherry that will drop into our mouth one day.’ Maybe, Lord Dalhousie always liked to eat Cherry. Lord Dalhousie annexed Punjab, Burma, Nagpur, Satara, Jhansi and now his new cherry is Awadh. Nawab Shuja-ud-daula of Awadh had a battle with the East India Company. The East India Company won the battle but they did not annex Awadh Kingdom, instead they made a deal of friendship or alliance with the Nawab of Awadh. The tradition of friendship continued. The East India Company used to take funds from Awadh Kingdom whenever required. The East India Company gave the title of ‘Badshah’ to Nawab Gaji-ud-din Haider of Awadh as Gaji-ud-din always gave good services to the East India Company. Actually, that precious crown was of Badshah Nawab Gaji-ud-din Haider.

Lieutenant Sir James Outram, the English General who was posted in Lucknow as a Resident observed that the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is not performing well as an administrator. So, the annexation of Awadh Kingdom with the East India Company Empire would be fruitful for the people of the Awadh Kingdom. Sajjad Ali and Roshan Ali just started playing the game of chess at Sajjad Ali’s residence that Munshi Nandlal came to meet Sajjad Ali. Munshi Nandlal felt impressed to see that both Sajjad Ali and Roshan Ali were playing the game of chess. ‘Baah! Baah! Baah! Badshah o ka khel hain huzur, khelon ka Badshah. Mujhe toh fakr hota hain ki yeh hindusthan ki hee jaat hain.’ Sajjad Ali and Mir Ali used to think that the game of Chess originated in Iran, but, actually, the game of Chess originated in India itself and became world famous through smart marketing strategies when the popularity of the game reached England via Persia. In England, some strategies got changed in the game of Chess, e.g. a pawn can go straight for 2 squares from its initial position. A pawn can become a queen after reaching the last square of the chessboard. England modified some rules of Indian Chess to make the game more rapid and competitive. Actually, Munshi Nandlal came to give them the information that the East India Company is planning to conquer Awadh Kingdom. ‘Lord Dalhousie ki niyat par shaqh hain. Suna hain unki fauz Kanpur tak aa chuki hain.’

Lord Dalhousie sent an important order through a letter from Kolkata to Lucknow. General James Outram received the letter on 31^st January 1856. Even at midnight, the game of chess continued. Khurshid, the wife of Mirza Sajjad Ali became angry on Sajjad Ali. Through Heria, the maid servant, Khurshid sent the message that she is having headache. Mirza Sajjad Ali had another addiction and that was to listen to the Mujra Songs of Baiji and spending nights with them. But, the addiction towards the game of chess has totally suppressed his previous addiction. Nowadays, Mirza Sajjad Ali does not visit any Baiji Kotah. Khurshid pounced on Mirza like a hungry tigress on the bed at midnight, but, Mirza’s mind was still on that chessboard. Hence, he failed to satisfy his wife’s sexual hunger. ‘Chahte hain Begum! Hum kaal hee saabit kar ke dikha denge. Aaj dhyaan kahi aur hain.’

General Outram called the Wazir-e-Azam of Awadh to give the information to Wajid Ali Shah about the new Treaty. The Prime Minister of Awadh Kingdom asked about the reason behind the introduction of new Treaty. As per the views of East India Company, as Wajid Ali Shah failed to improve the administration of Awadh Kingdom for the last 10 years, so, it is a need of the hour to annex Awadh Kingdom to the empire of East India Company. Khurshid misplaced 32 pieces of the game of chess i.e. 16 pieces of each side. Sajjad decided to play the game of chess at Roshan Ali’s house. It helped to reveal the brutal truth. Nafisa, the wife of Mir Roshan Ali had an extra-marital affair with Aqueel Miyan. Roshan Ali caught them red-handed but still he was not smart enough to understand what was actually going on inside the bedroom. Aqueel Miyan smartly told him that he was running away from the English soldiers. Roshan Ali feared that the English soldiers may come inside his house to arrest him. So, they decided to go and play chess in a mosque of a remote village which is at the outskirts of Lucknow. 

Resident Outram met Janab-i-Aliyyah to tell her to request her son, Wajid Ali Shah to give up the Awadh Kingdom to East India Company. Janab-i-Aliyyah, the mother of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah became angry on the decision of East India Company and decided to meet Queen Victoria in London. Where is the mosque? Basically, Roshan Ali confused the map of Kanpur with the map of Lucknow. Though, Kallu, a local boy of that village gave them a place to play the game of chess. Kallu has not fled from the village as he wanted to see the soldiers of East India Company as he has never seen them before. Wajid Ali Shah handed over the Awadh Kingdom to East India Company without even fighting with them. On 7^th February 1856, the East India Company took control of Awadh Kingdom and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah left Lucknow. Lord Dalhousie had his last cherry. Why Mirza Sajjad Ali and Mir Roshan Ali became angry on each other? Who fired bullet at Mirza Sajjad Ali? ‘Jinse apni bibiyan hee nahi samla, woh angrez fauz ka kaise saamna karega.’ ‘Andhera hote hee laut jaayenge, muh chupaane ke liye andhera jaroori hain.’ The administration of Awadh Kingdom got changed, but did you find any change in the passion and psychology of those two “SHATRANJ KE KHILARI”?