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In the historic locality of 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 city's royal past.

His hands tremble as he moves, but there is a sparkle in his eyes. He has arrived to receive his stipend, a allowance provided to the descendants and associates of the former Awadh kingdom.

This pension, derived from the Persian word for a written agreement, is a pension awarded to the heirs and associates of the sovereigns of the previous Awadh state. Awadh, now the central region of Uttar Pradesh, was ruled by partially independent Muslim rulers - known as nawabs - until the British took control in 1856.

India no longer has a monarchy, and former royals lack any honorifics, privileges or unique stipends, known as privy purses. However, while their kingdoms and authority have vanished, some stipend systems have persisted for descendants of these lineages in regions including UP, the southern state, and Rajasthan.

Roshan Taqui, a scholar of the city, where the area is located, explains that in the early 1800s some individuals of the Awadh royal family lent money to the British enterprise - which was then a commercial entity - on condition that the earnings be paid out as stipends to their relatives. These advances were perpetual, meaning the Company never had to return the principal amount.

But shortly thereafter, the colonial power acquired control in the region while the local rulers became weaker.

Around that time, the historian says, several rulers were also forced to lend funds to the enterprise, which needed it to fight the Afghan war.

Standing outside the gallery, which was built during the rule of former Awadh ruler Mohammad Ali Shah, the elderly recipient says he has come to collect his payment after over a year.

"We've been collecting this pension since the era of our ancestors. It's so little that I only come once a year to collect it," he explained.

The stipend sum is meagre, just nine rupees and 70 paise (eleven cents; eight pence) a month, but for his family, it is about prestige - their final connection to a formerly wealthy heritage.

"Even if we get just one paisa, we'll spend a thousand rupees to travel and receive it," says his offspring the younger generation.

Today, around 1,200 individuals - called wasikedars - still receive these stipends.

However, the payouts are neither fixed nor uniform and diminish with each generation. For instance, if a individual received a hundred rupees and had two children, the pension would be reduced by half after their death, giving each 50 rupees. As heirs multiplied over time, the portion of the stipend became even smaller.

The distribution of the pension began in 1817 when the royal consort, the wife of Awadh's Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula, lent 40m rupees to the British entity in multiple payments on the condition that her kin and affiliates obtain regular stipends, as per Mr Taqui.

Historical documents show that other people associated with the dynasty also provided funds to the Company on comparable conditions.

After India gained independence in 1947, part of the funds provided by Bahu Begum was deposited in a bank.

According to the state's pension official the officer, about three million rupees was initially placed in the central bank (previously Calcutta) and subsequently transferred to Kanpur and then the capital. Now, the pensions are paid out from the interest earned on around 2.6m rupees held in a local bank in the urban area.

The payments are made by dual authorities in the Picture Gallery: the Hussainabad Trust, run by Lucknow's district administration, and the state's wasika office. The authorities now sends stipends directly into financial accounts, while the Trust distributes physical currency.

The minister, the state's minority welfare minister, says the wasika is given out as per regulation and that the practice "dates back to the rulers of the region."

Skeptics argue that these allowances are vestiges of aristocratic entitlement and should have no role today. But advocates view them as symbolic payments linked to past agreements that should not be disregarded.

Shahid Ali Khan, a legal professional who is also a recipient of the royal pension, points to his own family's legacy. His grandfather was a official to Nawab Mohammad Ali Shah.

Now, he gets distinct stipends associated with two loans, a distribution of four rupees and eighty paise every three months and another regular stipend of three rupees and twenty-one paise.

"This wasika cannot be measured in money. It's our identity, invaluable. A select group receive it," he says, noting that he collects it shortly prior to the holy month of the Islamic month, using it only for religious expenses.

"I avoid receiving it throughout the year because if even a single paisa is used for other purposes, I would feel guilty."

Numerous beneficiaries assert that the stipends should be raised according to current interest rates.

"We've been receiving wasika at a 4% interest rate since the Nawabs' time, while today's bank interest rates are much higher," the elder says.

His son comments that they have made repeated appeals for the amount to be raised, but without success.

"It's regrettable that I spend 500 rupees on fuel just to collect nine rupees and 70 paise," he says.

Experts also point out that the stipend was originally paid in silver coins that every piece weighed over 11.7 grams (around 11.7g).

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

The lawyer declares he plans to go to court to seek an update of the amount.

"We'll inquire why wasika is no longer distributed in precious metal now. And if not in silver, then at least the amount equivalent to today's silver value should be provided," he states.

It is not only the financial worth of the wasika that has faded, but also the splendor associated with it.

Another recipient, whose family has been obtaining these stipends for multiple eras, recalls a period when receiving the stipend felt like a festival, with sherbets and tea being sold on the day.

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