A college student wants to visit Metiabruz to witness first-hand the legacy of a king hitherto confined to a few passages in a history textbook.

A visit to a jail museum made another student indebted to freedom fighters who did not make it to history books.

The first student attended a session on Wajid Ali Shah at Gurudas College on November 25. The second was part of a group from Durgapur Government College that visited the Alipore Museum on November 26.

Both programmes were organised by a campaign that works for social amity to mark the heritage week (November 19-25).

The session at Gurudas College saw Shruti Ghosh, a choreographer, give an audio-visual presentation on the diverse cultural milieu of Metiabruz and the legacy of Wajid Ali Shah.

The presentation ended with a dance performance narrating the chain of events from the annexation of Oudh by the British and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s exile to Calcutta.

Arnab Biswas, a third-year student of history at Gurudas College, had in a Class XII textbook read a couple of passages about Shah, part of Indian history in the run-up to the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.

“But that was not even scratching the surface. He is the central character of a fascinating slice of history. It was overwhelming to know about his patronage of finer arts. So far, I had only known about his association with biryani,” said Biswas.

In 1856, a year before the rebellion, exiled from Lucknow by the British, Wajid Ali Shah landed in a ghat in Metiabruz with an elaborate entourage. He was just 34.

He spent the remaining 26 years of his life and is still buried in Metiabruz, a locality that came to be defined by him. His arrival would change the character of the entire area. From a southwestern suburb, Metiabruz would be known as mini-Lucknow.

Food lore has it that biryani came to Calcutta with Wajid Ali Shah. But his contribution to the city is much beyond food. His patronage of music, dance, theatre and literature has left an indelible mark in Calcutta.

Biswas, a Barasat resident, has only visited Metiabruz once — as a boy — to the garment market with his mother. “Now, I want to visit Metiabruz again. I want to walk through the lanes linked to the Nawab,” said Biswas.

Gopa Mukherjee, an associate professor of history at Gurudas College, said sessions like these were the need of the hour.

“In today’s India, there is a lot of intolerance. There is a bid to prove that my culture is superior to yours. Students should know more about the plurality inherent in our culture,” said Mukherjee.

Thirty-eight students from Durgapur Government College visited the Alipore Museum, housed in the building which was once the Alipore Jail. It was a first for the students, who came from the English, philosophy, history and political science departments.

The Durgapur college is affiliated to Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol. Born on May 24, 1899, the poet was incarcerated at the Alipore Jail in 1922 following a sentence of one year’s imprisonment for his anti-British writings.

The cell where he was incarcerated is preserved and named Nazrul Cell.

Museum director Jayanta Sengupta shared its history with the students.

“Three types of prisoners were lodged here. One, already established freedom fighters and designated political prisoners like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. They would be considered first-class prisoners and get individual cells,” Sengupta said.

“Second-class prisoners would get a cemented bed. The headrest was also made of cement. The headrest of one prisoner would be beside the feet of another. The design was meant to limit interaction between the inmates. The third-class prisoners were holed up in a ward that was like a dormitory. They slept on the floor."

Roopsha Roy, a second-year English honours student, felt a deep sense of gratitude to the “ordinary prisoners”, many of them freedom fighters.

“They do not hog the limelight. But they gave everything for the country,” said Roy.

Antara Mukherjee, an assistant professor of English at the college, accompanied the students to the museum. “This is experiential learning. Seeing the gallows for the first time left many students bereft of words,” she said.

The two programmes were organised by Know Your Neighbour, a campaign that promotes communal harmony.

“Our differences make our heritage. Heritage must also be rooted in the ground we stand on. We must not limit ourselves to the idea of Taj Mahal or Konark. We must celebrate the heritage around us,” said Sabir Ahamed, convener of the campaign, who was part of both programmes.