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In the historic locality of Hussainabad, located in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, 90-year-old Faiyaz Ali Khan journeys to the Picture Gallery, a nineteenth-century structure that stands as a reminder of the city's royal past.

His fingers shake as he walks, but there is a sparkle in his eyes. He has come to collect his royal pension, a allowance granted to the descendants and connections of the erstwhile Awadh realm.

This pension, originating from the Persian word for a written agreement, is a pension awarded to the heirs and associates of the rulers of the previous Awadh kingdom. Awadh, now the central region of Uttar Pradesh, was governed by semi-autonomous Muslim rulers - known as nawabs - until the British East India Company took control in 1856.

India no longer has a monarchy, and ex-royalty do not have any titles, special rights or unique stipends, known as privy purses. However, while their kingdoms and political power have long disappeared, some stipend systems have continued for descendants of these lineages in states including Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Rajasthan.

A historian, a historian of Lucknow, where Hussainabad is located, explains that in the early 1800s some individuals of the Awadh dynasty lent money to the East India Company - which was then a commercial entity - on condition that the interest be distributed as stipends to their relatives. These advances were ongoing, meaning the Company never had to return the principal amount.

But shortly thereafter, the British gained power in the region while the nawabs became less powerful.

Around that time, Mr Taqui says, a number of nawabs were also compelled to provide money to the Company, which required it to fight the conflict in Afghanistan.

Standing outside the Picture Gallery, which was built during the reign of former Awadh sovereign Mohammad Ali Shah, Faiyaz Ali Khan states he has come to collect his stipend after 13 months.

"We've been collecting this pension since the era of our ancestors. It's so little that I visit annually to receive it," he said.

The stipend sum is modest, just nine rupees and 70 paise (eleven cents; eight pence) a thirty days, but for his household, it is about honour - their last living link to a once-rich past.

"Even if we get just one paisa, we'll pay a significant amount to travel and receive it," says his offspring Shikoh Azad.

Currently, around 1,200 people - called wasikedars - continue to collect these pensions.

However, the payouts are neither fixed nor uniform and diminish with every successive heir. For example, if a individual got a hundred rupees and had two children, the stipend would be reduced by half after their death, leaving each with 50 rupees. As heirs grew over time, the portion of the stipend became even smaller.

The distribution of wasika began in the early nineteenth century when the royal consort, the wife of Awadh's Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula, gave 40m rupees to the East India Company in multiple payments on the condition that her relatives and associates receive monthly pensions, according to the historian.

Historical documents indicate that other people linked to the dynasty also gave loans to the Company on comparable conditions.

After India gained independence in the mid-twentieth century, part of the funds provided by the begum was placed in a bank.

As per the state's wasika officer SP Tiwari, approximately 3m rupees was first deposited in the central bank (previously Calcutta) and subsequently transferred to Kanpur and then Lucknow. Today, the stipends are distributed from the returns generated on approximately 2.6m rupees deposited in a local bank in the city.

The distributions are made by dual authorities in the gallery: the Hussainabad Trust, run by the city's authorities, and the state's pension department. The government now sends stipends straight to bank accounts, while the Trust pays in cash.

Danish Ansari, Uttar Pradesh's minority welfare minister, says the wasika is given out as per regulation and that the tradition "dates back to the Nawabs of Awadh."

Skeptics argue that these stipends are vestiges of feudal privilege and should have no place today. But advocates see them as honorary compensations linked to historical promises that should not be disregarded.

Another beneficiary, a legal professional who is also a recipient of the royal pension, references his own family's legacy. His grandfather was a minister to the ruler.

Now, he receives two separate stipends linked to dual advances, one payment of four rupees and eighty paise every three months and a second regular stipend of three rupees and twenty-one paise.

"This pension should not be valued in currency. It's our heritage, worth more than millions. A select group obtain it," he says, noting that he receives it shortly prior to the sacred period of the Islamic month, using it only for spiritual purposes.

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

Many recipients argue that the pensions should be increased according to modern financial returns.

"We've been receiving wasika at a four percent return since the era of the rulers, while current financial yields are significantly greater," Faiyaz Ali Khan says.

His offspring adds that they have made repeated appeals for the sum to be raised, but in vain.

"It's regrettable that I spend 500 rupees on petrol only to collect nine rupees and 70 paise," he remarks.

Experts also point out that the stipend was initially distributed in silver coins that every piece weighed more than a tola (around 11.7g).

But when the payments switched to the national money, the value declined significantly.

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

"We'll ask why the stipend isn't paid in precious metal now. And if not in silver, then at least the amount equivalent to current metal prices should be provided," he says.

It is not just the financial worth of the wasika that has diminished, but also the grandeur associated with it.

Masood Abdullah, whose lineage has been obtaining these stipends for generations, recalls a period when receiving the stipend felt like a festival, with sherbets and tea being sold on the occasion.

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