Pearl by the River

‘ [The author] has excelled in recreating in the reader’ s mind the enormity of the tragedy a man suffered and how he chose to sculptor his choked passion into a concrete beauty… ’ — Dr Meerza Kaukab, great-grandson of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.Theast king of Audh, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah ofucknow was exiled by the British to Metiabruz in Bengal, on the fringes of Calcutta. Despite being robbed of his rightful throne, the Nawab did notose hope; instead, he set about establishing a new mini-kingdom on the banks of the River Hoogly.ittle byittle he brought in theaknawi way ofife to this area of Bengal, so much so that Metiabruz came to be called ‘ Chotaucknow’ . Extensively researched and evocatively written, this bookooks at a forgotten king and how he turned his exile into a victory of sorts.