India, Oct. 26 -- At the behest of Badshah Begum, the first queen of Awadh, a slave girl named Sukh Chain was married to Nasir-ud-Din Haider in the year 1817, receiving the titles of Sharaf un-Nisan and Afzal Mahal. At that time, Nasir was a prince and ruler designate of Awadh. Their 'son' Faridun Bakht or Munna Jan, was born in Lucknow on September 14, 1820. This 'birth' set off a perplexing chain of events in the court of Awadh, which remain unsolved to this day. Ghazi-ud-Din Haider, the reigning king, had refused to acknowledge his 'grandson.' Subsequently, a woman named Dulari entered the Nawabi establishment as a wet nurse for Munna Jan. So who was this Dulari, who would later be given the honorific title of Malika Zamani (Queen of the Age) and who would wield considerable clout in the court of Nasir-ud-Din Haider (albeit for a short while)? Version 1: Dulari had been pawned by her mother to one Talat Murad, in lieu of the money due to him. Talat Murad's illegitimate son, Rustom, married her and they had a son, Mohammad Ali. After the death of Talat, Rustom became a syce (groomer of horses), while his wife worked as a wet nurse. By now, Mohammad Ali was three years old and Dulari had an infant daughter, when Munna Jan was born in the palace and Dulari was selected to become his wet nurse. Version 2: Hussaini was a slave girl of one Hulum-un-Nisan, on whose death, she became the property of Gauhar un-Nisan, the daughter of the deceased Hulum. The son of Hulum got employment in Benaras and invited his sister, Gauhar, who was penniless, to join him. Gauhar pawned Hussaini with Rustom, an elephant coolie, who later married her. A son, Mohammad was born of this union. Hussaini later gave birth to a daughter and subsequently, she was appointed as a wet nurse in the royal household, described above. Version 3: One Sheikh Talib Murad had a sister named Karamat un-Nisan. An unnamed person borrowed Rs 60 from Karamat, and being unable to repay the loan, gave her daughter, Dulari, as repayment of the debt. Karamat adopted this girl as her own daughter and called her Hussaini, who proved to be of 'abandoned character.' Around this time, a widow arrived in the city, accompanied by her son, Rustom. Sheikh Talib Murad took her as his second wife, but Rustom developed an illegitimate relationship with the slave girl, Hussaini. The two were subsequently married and had a son, Mohammad Ali. When Rustom came to know about his wife's morals, he deserted her and left Lucknow. Hussaini continued with her wayward ways and became pregnant again. She delivered a daughter, and on being dismissed by her current employer, she found employment in the royal household as she was still nursing her infant daughter. Version 4: Next to the house of one Tarak Murad, lived a man, who once borrowed a sum of money from Tarak - but later absconded, leaving his wife and child behind. The child, Dulari, was about 5 years old, who on attaining puberty, developed an illicit relationship with Rustom, the son of Tarak. When the patriarch died, his family faced distress, with Dulari wandering in the bazaars and by-lanes; she formed an intimacy with a blacksmith and an elephant driver. When she gave birth to a son, Mohammad Ali, it was not clear whether the child's father was Rustom, the elephant driver or the blacksmith. By the time Mohammad Ali was 3 years old, Dulari gave birth to a daughter, whose parentage was again in doubt. When Munna Jan was born in the palace, Dulari had yet not weaned her daughter, and thus she was chosen to nurse the infant, Munna Jan. With Munna's origins already in doubt, Dulari, accompanied by her young son and infant daughter, entered the royal household. Nasir-ud-Din was now attracted to this wet nurse and not only insisted on marrying Dulari, he also agreed to her wish of declaring Mohammad Ali as his legal heir, with the title 'Kaiwan Jah.' Dulari was given the title of Malika Zamani and all her near and dear ones from her past honoured with titles and land grants. The only loser in this game was Rustom, the original husband, who was imprisoned on the instigation of Dulari. The king's roving eye now focussed on another maidservant, Qudsia, who was a maid-in-waiting for Dulari a.k.a. Malika Zamani. As his attention towards Malika Zamani diminished, so did the importance of both Kaiwan Jah and Munna Jan. Eventually, both contenders for the Awadh throne were officially repudiated by Nasir. Kaiwan Jah died of cholera on May 16, 1838. His mother built a small but elegant Imambara over his remains, which is still extant near Karbala Mir Khuda Baksh at Talkatora, Lucknow. Dulari or Malika Zamani died on December 22, 1843. She was buried in her own Imambara in the present-day Golaganj area. Kaiwan had one son, Nawab Wazir Mirza, more popularly known as Wala Qadar. A prominent road named after Wala Qadar is still extant in the Qaiserbagh area of Lucknow. The writer, a former scientist, has authored several books on the forgotten heritage of Lucknow...