Blue blood takes on ‘Awadh Samman’

LUCKNOW: The Royal families of Awadh have criticised the organisers of ‘Awadh Samman’ for giving awards to Bollywood stars.
At a meeting held under the auspices of the Royal families of Awadh, the descendants of the erstwhile royal families vowed to fight the one-upmanship of the organisers. The conferment of awards to those who have done little for promoting the glory of Awadh, was an insult to the cultural heritage of Uttar Pradesh, said the members of the association.
Till now the ‘Awadh Samman’ has drawn to its altar, personalities like Kaifi Azmi, Sardar Ali Jafri, Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, AR Rehman and several others.
All of them, said a member of the association, came to Lucknow to receive the Samman and added that most of those who walked away with the awards had no association with Awadh or Uttar Pradesh.
Participants at the meeting pointed out that this year again the award would be given to film stars like Anil Kapoor and Raveena Tandon on June 11.
These two stars, whatever may be their contribution to the film industry, had done nothing for Awadh or Uttar Pradesh, they said.
The members recalled that the Britishers had portrayed them as villains, holding them responsible for the evils that had crept into the society.
The rule of Nawabs from 1722-1857, said DN Tewari, a member of the association said, was a golden period.
Another member JS Jaireth said the distribution of the award was the worst kind of tokenism and should be discouraged. She said lakhs of rupees were being spent to earn cheap publicity. She said if the money spent on giving awards was utilised properly, a thousand villages could be electrified or provided safe drinking water.
The meeting was presided over by Amir Khan Saheb. The meeting demanded the renaming of Amausi airport in the name of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.
General secretary of the association, Shikoh Azad said in the ‘City of nawabs’ there was hardly any institution that highlighted the contributions of the Awadh nawabs.