LUCKNOW: Great grandson of Awadh's last king
Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
and grandson of Nawab Birjis Qadr--Prince Kaukab Quder Saajad Ali Meerza, died in Kolkata on Sunday evening. The last surviving great grandson of
Wajid Ali Shah
and
Begum Hazrat Mahal
, the 87-year-old had tested positive for Covid-19 a week ago, his family said.
He is survived by his wife who belongs to Lucknow's famous Khandaan-e-Ijtehaad family, two sons and four daughters.
He was also a senior trustee of the Sibtainabad Imambara Trust in Matiaburj, Kolkata, where his Great Grandfather, King Wajid Ali Shah lies buried.
After doing his Doctorate in Urdu from Aligarh Muslim University on the Literary & Cultural Contributions of Wajid Ali Shah, he joined the same university and retired as Professor of Urdu in 1993.
"Also known as Dr M Kaukub, he was a popular figure in the billiards and snooker fraternity of the country. He was the founder-secretary of The Billiards & Snooker Federation of India, The West Bengal Billiards Association and also The Uttar Pradesh Billiards & Snooker Association," his son Irfan Ali Mirza said.
He was the Chief Referee of the First World Snooker Championship held at the iconic Great Eastern Hotel in Calcutta in 1963-64. He remained the Chief Referee of the National Billiards & Snooker Championship till it left the Palm Court of the Great Eastern Hotel in the nineteen seventies.
The rolling trophy of the IBSF World Snooker Championship, the M M Baig Trophy, was designed by him, and to this day remains the prestigious rolling trophy of the World Championship.
He had also taken out a pioneering Billiards magazine, The Baulkline, in the 1970s.
He had made his daughter Manzilat Fatima play the Junior National Snooker Championship in 1980 in Ahmedabad, thus making her the first female ever to participate in the National Snooker Championship.