They don't live in large palaces and have to pay to enter monuments built by their ancestors. However, the direct descendants of the Mughal dynasty - living in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad- are well aware of their legacy. In a tell-all, they explain how they struggle to hold on to their heritage.

Begum Laila Umahani looks tired. On the lazy Friday afternoon that we meet in Hyderabad, this fourth generation Mughal descendant says she's physically exhausted because of the heat and old age. And emotionally drained by trying to get her family the recognition she feels is due to them by way of their ancestry that includes Mughal emperors Akbar, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

"What is left now? What will it achieve?" she asks in a soft voice and then signalling to her grandson for some water to be served. Umahani, who is 92 or 93 - she says she doesn't know exactly - has remained silent for most of her life about her predecessors, simply out of fear of being mocked.

"There is no point in our living in the past achievements of our ancestors even if they have built the Taj Mahal or Red Fort," she says with a genteel smile. Though it does hurt, when they too have to queue up and pay for entrance at monuments that are major Indian tourist attractions. "Yes, yes. That is true. In fact we are shown in The Living Mughals [a documentary by Arijeet Gupta] doing that," says Umahani's son, Masihuddin Tucy - one of seven siblings.

It was through The Living Mughals that the Tucy family - Umahani, her four daughters and four sons - were brought out in the open and exposed to media attention, occasional suspicion and even taunts from other Mughal descendant families [see box]. To the Tucys' credibility, however, they have been officially recognised by the Uzbekistan government as the first Mughal emperor, Babar, traced his roots back to Tashkent.

"We have visited Tashkent twice for commemorative events of Babar and the Uzbek government has given our children grants of Rs1.2 million (Dh100,000) per year per child to study there. Some of them even went, but then because of the extreme climate they couldn't manage and came back," Masihuddin, 50, says with a smile. His brother Ziauddin, who also lives in Hyderabad, adds, "Our forefathers were from there. But now we are used to the Hyderabadi heat."

Living in a rented house, with his mother, Masihuddin's living room has a wall dedicated to laminated press cuttings about their family. On either side of this wall are two plates featuring the visage of Babar, whom some historians call the first Mughal invader. The Tucys are aware of this and don't mind addressing the accusation.

"He may have invaded India, but so many before and after also did and there is a big difference in Babar's conquest of India. Babar loved India so much that he named his youngest son Hindal. While many foreigners before did attack, they also looted everything this country had and left. Babar came with the idea of settling and he did. And so did all his successors. They all stayed and allowed a civilisation to grow," says Ziauddin, 65, who is retired from the Andhra Pradesh government services. While most Indian history text books portray Akbar as the greatest and Aurangzeb as the most evil of the Mughal rulers, the Tucys are quite neutral in their feelings towards their ancestors. " Akbar was special. No doubt because of his great tolerance. Some Muslims don't like him because of Din-I- Ilahi [a new faith created by him that incorporated Islam, Hinduism and some elements of Christianity and Jainism], but that was incredibly forward thinking on his part to promote tolerance, especially because it was a situation of a minority ruling a majority," says Masihuddin.

Alleged cruelties

And what of Aurangzeb, the most vilified of the Mughals, because of his alleged cruelties towards non-Muslim subjects and their places of worship. "If Aurangzeb wronged he wronged. But we don't think any less or more of him," says Ziauddin.

Given India's current trend of changing what the textbooks say, the Tucys are quite satisfied with how the Mughal dynasty is portrayed and wouldn't want to make any alteration. "Facts are facts. There is nothing we want to change there," they say.

What they would like to change, however, extends into quite a long wish-list. And it even includes handing over monuments that are currently under the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). They are, however, reconciled to the fact that this will never be realised. Gaining ownership of the Taj Mahal, for instance, is highly improbable, Masihuddin concedes, however, he does wish his family were spared of queue, ticket and timing restrictions. Considering the Taj Mahal is the mausoleum of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, it does seem a tad odd that they are treated as the general public when it comes to visiting their ancestor's tombs.

They seek solace in the fact that at least they are in a position to visit most of the tombs, barring one. That of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was the last Mughal emperor of India, but was exiled, died and buried in Rangoon, Myanmar. "He is officially there. But we suspect and fear that his remains have been mummified and sent to London for research," says Masihuddin, not revealing the cause for his suspicion.

Freedom fighter

Zafar spearheaded the first revolt against the British and they shake their heads in tragic irony that the successors of one of India's first freedom fighters have to live in rented houses in modern India. "And the princes that sided with the British ? those families are actually traitors to India and they continue to have their titles, palaces and enjoy greater privileges," they say.

"There is just a road named after Zafar in Delhi. We hope for more recognition. But we are not complaining. The government has ensured that our children's education will be taken care of even for future generations. But there are some issues such as regaining control of some property in Hyderabad itself. It will work out," says Ziauddin.

The Tucys deny ever having projected themselves as living in abject penury, but can't hide their disappointment for not being given land by virtue of their bloodline. "Even 1,000 square metres per family will be enough," says Masihuddin, who is currently a food consultant with the ITC hotel conglomerate.

With a little more than 150 members part of the Mughal Families Society, the Tucys continue to address and host the media in the hope that their requests will be realised. However, the younger generation of these Mughal descendants seems oblivious to the efforts of their grandparents. Ziauddin's grand-daughters, Amreen and Samreen, say that they were only recently told of their royal roots. "We don't think too much of it. It's the past and so long ago," they say, adding that they would like to study medicine. With what would appear to be a realistic perspective of the future, this young generation of Mughal boys and girls is content to hear Begum Umahani's narratives of growing up in 1930s Hyderabad.

As the family readies to pose for a rare photograph, Umahani sits down to watch them get ready. It is a rare moment, Masihuddin explains because they don't encourage the media to photograph the women of the family. "This is for Dubai that I'm agreeing," he says with a laugh.

While the adults gather around and decide where to pose, Umahani starts to recall the busy Charminar area, where she grew up. She talks of how she feared the British and then describes, in great detail, the incidents and events surrounding the great Mughal emperors' lives. Her great-grandchildren surround her and the younger ones listen with wide eyes and curiosity what they believe is a legend of the past.

And that is precisely what Ziauddin and Masihuddin both secretly fear their precious heritage will end up becoming - a legend.

Identity conflict

It is widely acknowledged that there are three surviving lines of Bahadur Shah Zafar's lineage - the Hyderabad line (main feature), the Delhi line and the Kolkata line. However, there seems to be some disagreement among the successors about the legitimacy of the others' claims.

Bahadur Shah Zafar was known to have had 22 official sons. The Hyderabad Mughals are direct descendants of Mirza Quaish, while the Delhi Mughals are descendants of Mirza Fathul Mulk Bahadur aka Mirza Fakhru. The Delhi line alleges that Mirza Quaish was never a vali ahad or crown prince and that Mirza Fakhru was made the heir apparent in 1853. In media reports, the surviving descendant, Pakeeza Sultan Begum of the Delhi line has said that Mirza Quaish was supposedly making a deal with the British to declare him crown prince, but that the rebellion had broken out by that time.

After Zafar's exile to Rangoon, Mirza Quaish escaped to Kathmandu, from where he secretly returned to India and was given shelter by the Maharana of Udaipur. His son Mirza Abdullah, also a fugitive, finally settled in Hyderabad, where the Nizam (ruler) helped him. Begum Umahani is his grand-daughter.

The Hyderabad line says that Mirza Fakhru died before the revolt and a maid escaped with his son, Mirza Farkhunda Jamal, who was only four at the time. "This boy resurfaced after many years and then claimed to be Mirza Fakhru's son. How can we believe? For all you know it could have been the maid's son! Anyway, Mirza Fakhru made many humiliating concessions to the British and we consider him to be a traitor," say the Tucys, who have certificates validating their identity from the state Revenue Department.