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In Hussainabad, located in the north Indian state of UP, nonagenarian Faiyaz Ali Khan travels to the Art Gallery, a nineteenth-century building that is a relic of the region's regal history.

His hands tremble as he walks, but there is a gleam in his eyes. He has arrived to receive his wasika, a allowance provided to the descendants and connections of the former Awadh realm.

Wasika, originating from the Farsi word for a formal contract, is a pension awarded to the descendants and associates of the sovereigns of the previous Awadh state. Awadh, now the central region of Uttar Pradesh, was governed by semi-autonomous Muslim leaders - known as nawabs - until the British East India Company took control in 1856.

India does not retain a royal system, and former royals lack any honorifics, special rights or unique stipends, called privy purses. However, while their kingdoms and political power have long disappeared, some stipend systems have continued for heirs of these lineages in states including Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Rajasthan.

Roshan Taqui, a scholar of the city, where the area is situated, says that in the beginning of the nineteenth century some members of the Awadh dynasty provided loans to the British enterprise - which was then a British trading enterprise - on the agreement that the interest be paid out as pensions to their families. These advances were perpetual, meaning the Company never had to repay the original sum.

But soon, the colonial power gained power in the area while the nawabs became weaker.

Around that time, the historian notes, a number of rulers were also compelled to provide money to the Company, which needed it to fight the conflict in Afghanistan.

Waiting near the Picture Gallery, which was constructed during the reign of former Awadh sovereign Mohammad Ali Shah, the elderly recipient says he has come to collect his payment after over a year.

"We've been receiving this wasika since the era of our ancestors. It's so little that I only come once a year to receive it," he said.

The stipend sum is meagre, only nine rupees and 70 paise (eleven cents; £0.08) a thirty days, but for his household, it is about honour - their last living link to a formerly wealthy heritage.

"Even if we receive a single paisa, we'll spend a thousand rupees to travel and receive it," states his son the younger generation.

Today, approximately 1,200 individuals - known as wasikedars - continue to collect these stipends.

However, the distributions are neither fixed nor uniform and diminish with every successive heir. For instance, if a person got a hundred rupees and had two children, the stipend would be halved after their death, leaving each with fifty rupees. As heirs grew over the years, the share of pensions became even smaller.

The distribution of the pension started in 1817 when Bahu Begum, the spouse of Awadh's the ruler, lent forty million rupees to the East India Company in multiple payments on the stipulation that her relatives and affiliates obtain regular stipends, according to the historian.

Historical documents indicate that additional individuals linked to the royal family also gave loans to the Company on comparable conditions.

After India became independent in the mid-twentieth century, a portion of the funds provided by the begum was placed in a bank.

According to Uttar Pradesh's pension official the officer, about 3m rupees was initially placed in the Reserve Bank of Kolkata (previously Calcutta) and subsequently transferred to the industrial city and then Lucknow. Today, the pensions are distributed from the returns generated on approximately 2.6 million rupees deposited in a local bank in the city.

The payments are made by dual authorities in the gallery: the Hussainabad Trust, managed by the city's authorities, and the Uttar Pradesh government's pension department. The government now transfers pensions straight to bank accounts, while the Trust pays in cash.

The minister, Uttar Pradesh's official, states the wasika is given out as per policy and that the tradition "dates back to the Nawabs of Awadh."

Critics argue that these stipends are remnants of aristocratic entitlement and should have no role today. But supporters see them as symbolic payments tied to historical promises that cannot be easily brushed aside.

Shahid Ali Khan, a lawyer who is also a recipient of the stipend, points to his own heritage. His grandfather was a minister to Nawab Mohammad Ali Shah.

Today, he receives distinct royal pensions linked to two loans, one payment of four rupees and eighty paise quarterly and another monthly payment of three rupees and twenty-one paise.

"This wasika should not be valued in money. It's our heritage, invaluable. A select group receive it," he says, noting that he receives it shortly prior to the sacred period of Muharram, using it only for religious expenses.

"I don't collect it annually because if even a single paisa is used for other purposes, I would feel guilty."

Many recipients assert that the stipends should be raised according to current interest rates.

"We've been getting the stipend at a 4% interest rate since the Nawabs' time, while current financial yields are significantly greater," Faiyaz Ali Khan says.

His son comments that they have petitioned multiple times for the sum to be raised, but without success.

"It's regrettable that I spend 500 rupees on petrol only to receive 9.70 rupees," he says.

Experts also point out that the stipend was initially distributed in precious metal currency that every piece weighed more than a tola (approximately 11.7 grams).

But when the distributions changed to Indian currency, the value dropped sharply.

The lawyer declares he plans to go to court to demand a revision of the sum.

"We'll ask why the stipend isn't paid in silver coins anymore. And if not in coin, then at least the amount equivalent to current metal prices should be paid," he states.

It is not just the monetary value of the wasika that has diminished, but also the grandeur surrounding it.

Another recipient, whose family has been obtaining these stipends for multiple eras, recalls a period when collecting the pension felt like a festival, with refreshments and beverages being sold on the day.

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