Martin Purwa, also known as Martinpurwa or Martinpura) is a neighbourhood of the city of

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, India. It is part of the Vikramaditya ward. Martin Purwa has a population of around 4,000. It is part of the

La Martiniere College LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

estate. Its previous name was 'Luckperra'. It is named after

Claude Martin Major-General Claude Martin (5 January 1735 – 13 September 1800) was a French army officer who served in the French and later British East India companies in colonial India. Martin rose to the rank of major-general in the British East India C ...

, the eighteenth-century French adventurer and philanthropist, who served both the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

and the Nawab

Asaf-Ud-Dowlah Mirza Asaf-ud-Daula (23 September 1748 – 21 September 1797) was the Nawab wazir of Oudh ratified by Shah Alam II, from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797, and the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah. His mother and grandmother were the Begums of Oudh. ...

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

. The village was originally inhabited by the staff of Claude Martin and it provided labour and other services to the La Martiniere School. The hereditary ''

daroga Darogas (also spelled darogha or daroghah) were police officials in the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. In the Mughal Empire, a daroga was superintendent of the "slaves" of a Mughal monarch. Duties performed by daroga The darogas served in the ...

'' (superintendent) of the La Martiniere estate still has a house in the village. Martin Purwa has benefited from its close proximity to the Lucknow Golf Club and has produced so many good golfers that it is known locally as the 'nursery of golf'. The inhabitants of the village don't recall precisely when their association with the game began. According to village folklore a ''gora sahib'' (white man) was walking through the village one day with his retinue, and was puzzled to see some boys playing a game with curved sticks and wooden balls which they hit towards holes. The gentlemen was apparently so impressed by their game that he asked some of the older children to follow him to the golf club and work as

caddies In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

, a tradition which has continued ever since. Some of the village boys have since gone on to play the game professionally and a number have enjoyed success at a national level.Farzand Ahmed. "Martinpura: A Hole in One", ''India Today'' (online edition), 16 November 1988
accessed July 2007 Nearly 60 villagers of Martin Purwa make their living from golf, and the local boys continue to work at the club as caddies. The Lucknow Golf Club acknowledged Martin Purwa's contribution to the game by opening up a school for the village children in 1998.

Notable residents

*Vijay Kumar, India's number one golfer, also worked as a caddie at the golf club. He was the first Indian professional to earn one million rupees.V for Vijay, V for Victory! ''The Times of India'' (online edition), 19 March 2002.
accessed July 2007] *Gyan Sagar, the only national certified golf teaching professional (coach) in the club, from National Golf Academy Of India, Indian Golf Union.

References

{{Lucknow district Neighbourhoods in Lucknow

Notable residents

See also

References