Wajid Ali Shah

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
Mirza (Royal title)
King of Oudh
5th King of Awadh
Reign 13 February 1847 – 11 February 1856
Predecessor Amjad Ali Shah
Successor Birjis Qadra
Full name
Abul Mansoor Meerza Muhammed WAJID ALI SHAH
House Nishapuri
Dynasty Awadh
Father Amjad Ali Shah
Born 30 July 1822
Lucknow, India
Died 21 September 1887 (aged 65)
Metiabruz, Kolkata, India
Religion Shia Islam
Silver rupee of Wajid Ali Shah, struck at Lucknow in AH 1267 (1850–51 CE) and showing the Awadh coat of arms on the reverse. The two figures holding the pennants are intended to be fish, seen also on the Awadh flag.

Wajid Ali Shah (Urdu: واجد علی شاہ‎) (b. 30 July 1822 – d. 1 September 1887) was the fifth King of Oudh, holding the position from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856.[1][2]

He was the tenth and last Nawab of the state of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh in India. He ascended the throne of Awadh in 1847 and ruled for nine years. His kingdom, long protected by the British under treaty, was eventually annexed bloodlessly on 11 February 1856, 2 days before the ninth anniversary of his coronation. The Nawab was exiled to Garden Reach in Metiabruz, then a suburb of Kolkata, where he lived out the rest of his life off a generous pension. He was a poet, playwright, dancer and great patron of the arts. He is widely credited with the revival of Kathak as a major form of classical Indian dance.

As a Nawab

Vajid Ali Shah as Nawab

Wajid Ali Shah succeeded to the throne of Awadh when its glory days were at its peak and passing. The British had annexed much of the kingdom under the treaty of 1801, and had impoverished Awadh by imposing a hugely expensive, British-run army and repeated demands for loans. The independence of Awadh in name was tolerated by the British only because they still needed a buffer state between their presence in the East and South, and the remnants of the Mughal Empire to the North.

Wajid Ali Shah was most unfortunate to have ascended the throne of Oudh at a time when the British East India Company was determined to grab the coveted throne of prosperous Awadh, which was "the garden, granary, and queen-province of India", though before Britain came into full control, his predecessors and successors were one of the major threats to the Mughal Empire.

In different circumstances perhaps, he might have succeeded as a ruler because he had many qualities that make a good administrator. He was generous, kind and compassionate towards his subjects, besides being one of the most magnanimous and passionate patrons of the Fine Arts. When he ascended the throne, he took keen interest in the administration of justice, introduced reforms, and reorganised the military department. Wajid Ali Shah was widely regarded as a debauched and detached ruler, but some of his notoriety seems to have been misplaced. The main case for condemnation comes from the British Resident of Lucknow, General Sleeman who submitted a report highlighting maladministration and lawlessness supposed to be prevailing there. This proved to be the trigger the British were looking for, and formed the official basis for their annexation. Recent studies have, however, suggested that Oudh was neither as bankrupt nor as lawless as the British had claimed. In fact, Oudh was for all practical purposes under British rule well before the annexation, with the Nawab playing little more than a titular role. The army was composed mostly of British officers, while the purse strings were firmly under the control of the East India Company. In his book "Awadh Under Wajid Ali Shah", Dr. G.D. Bhatnagar[3] gives the following assessment of this ill-starred prince: "Cast by providence for the role of an accomplished dilettante, he found himself a misfit for the high office to which he was elevated by chance. Wajid Ali Shah's character was complex. Though he was a man of pleasure, he was neither an unscrupulous knave nor a brainless libertine. He was a lovable and generous gentleman. He was a voluptuary, still he never touched wine, and though sunk in pleasure, he never missed his five daily prayers. It was the literary and artistic attainments of Wajid Ali Shah which distinguished him from his contemporaries."

Patron of the arts

Contribution to music

A large number of composers who thrived under the lavish patronage of the Nawab rulers of Lucknow enriched the light classical form of thumri; most prominent among these was Wajid Ali Shah. He was not only a munificent patron of music, dance, drama, and poetry, but was himself a gifted composer. He had received vocal training under great Ustads like Basit Khan, Pyar Khan and Jafar Khan.Pyar Khan,Jafar Khan, and Basit Khan were the direct descendants of Miyan Tansen and were the sons of Famous Tanseni Chajju Khan.Bahadur Hussain Khan/Zia-ud-Daulah was the favourite musician of Wajid Ali Shah.Bahadur Hussain Khan was the son of Famous sufi saint Jeevan Shah of Jhansi, and descendant of Tansen's son-in-law Naubat Khan.Although Wajid Ali Shah's pen-name was Qaisar, he used the pseudonym "Akhtarpiya" for his numerous compositions. Under this pen name, he wrote over forty works – poems, prose and Thumris. "Diwan-i-Akhtar", "Husn-i-Akhtar" contain his Ghazals. He is said to have composed many new ragas and named them Jogi, Juhi, Shah-Pasand, etc.

Revival of Kathak

Kathak dance attained new heights of popularity and glory under his expert guidance and lavish patronage. Thakur Prasadji was his Kathak guru, and the unforgettable Kalka-Binda brothers performed in his court. What with the grand pageantry of the Rahas, Jogiya Jashan, Dance dramas, and Kathak performances, Lucknow became the magnetic cultural centre where the most reputed musicians, dancers and poets of the time flourished. The greatest musicians, dancers and instrumentalists of the time enjoyed his munificent patronage and hospitality.

Hindustani Theatre

When Wajid Ali Shah was a young boy, some astrologers warned his parents that he would become a Yogi, and advised them that the boy should be dressed up as a Yogi on each birthday of his so as to counteract the effect of the evil stars. He established his famous Parikhaana (abode of fairies) in which hundreds of beautiful and talented girls were taught music and dancing by expert-teachers engaged by the royal patron. These girls were known as Paris (fairies) with names such as Sultan pari, Mahrukh pari and so on. On each birthday, the Nawab would dress up as a Yogi with saffron robes, ash of pearls smeared on his face and body, necklaces of pearls around his neck, and a rosary in his hand, and walk pompously into the court with two of his 'paris dressed up as Jogans. Gradually he made it into a spectacular pageant or Mela known as Jogia Jashan, in which all citizens of Lucknow could participate, dressed as Yogis, irrespective of caste and creed. Later on, when his favourite venue, the Qaisarbagh Baradari was built, he began to stage his magnificent Rahas (obviously a Persianised name for Rasleela) full of sensuous poetry, his own lyrical compositions and glamorous Kathak dances.

Qaisarbagh

Ranbir Singh gives details of Wajid Ali Shah's book entitled Bani in which the author mentions 36 types of Rahas all set in Kathak style (with colourful names like Mor-Chchatr, Ghunghat, Salami, Mor Pankhi and Mujra), and gives exhaustive notes about the costumes, jewellery, and stage- craft. Rahas, prepared at a fabulous cost of several lakhs (hundred thousands) of rupees, became very popular, and was performed at the Kaisarbagh-Rahas Manzil, (most probably the first Hindustani Theatre Hall). Many have regarded Wajid Ali Shah as "the first playwright of the Hindustani theatre", because his "Radha Kanhaiyya Ka Qissa" staged in the Rahas Manzil was the first play of its kind. It featured Radha, Krishna, several sakhis, and a vidushaka-like character called "Ramchera". Songs, dances, mime, and drama were all delightfully synthesised in these Rahas performances. He dramatised many other poems such as Darya-i-Tashsq, Afsane-i-Isbaq, and Bhahar-i-Ulfat. It is said that Amanat's Inder Sabha was inspired by these dance-dramas, written, produced and staged by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah

His exile years

An illustration from the title page of Musammi Ba Banni written by Wajid Ali Shah, a book on Kathak dance lithographed at Matiabruz, Calcutta. in the manuscripts collection at the Portrait Gallery of Victoria memorial, Calcutta.

After losing his kingdom, the Nawab first went to Kanpur and then progressed to Calcutta in a steamer accompanied by his close relatives and large entourage comprising musicians, nautch girls, cooks and animals from his menagerie and came ashore at Bichali Ghat near Metiabruz, Calcutta on May 6, 1856. He had made up his mind to go and plead his case to Queen Victoria because of his firm belief in the British sense of justice. However, his physicians did not think his health would permit such a long voyage and it was his mother, brother and heir apparent who left for England. A year later when the Sepoy Mutiny spread to Lucknow and the sepoys installed one of his sons to the throne of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah was imprisoned in Fort William by the British along with his Prime Minister, due to apprehensions that he would become a rallying figure for the sepoys. HEA Cotton wrote that on Panic Sunday (June 14, 1857), there was wide spread apprehension among the White inhabitants of Calcutta because he had “one, two, three thousand” (no one knew) armed men under him. The Sepoy Mutiny dashed all his hopes of returning to Lucknow.[4] After his release from Fort William , he was allotted a building called BNR House in Garden Reach near the headquarter of South-Eastern Railway , Calcutta. In those days, it is said, it was called Parikhana.[5] However, heartbroken after leaving Lucknow, he had carried his dear city in his heart and proceeded to carve out a miniature of Lucknow in Metiabruz. In his exile in Metiabruz, he tried to keep the sweet memories of his Lucknow era alive by recreating the musical environments of his Kaisarbagh Baradari. The banished king had been given a number of fine houses with vast grounds stretching along the banks of the River Hooghly 3 or 4 miles south of Kolkata. Because of an Earthen Dome (raised platform), people called it "Matiya Burj". The king spent lavishly out of his income of 12 lakh (1.2 million) rupees per annum and before long a second Lucknow arose in this area.[6]

His legacy: "Babul Mora" Thumri

His Bhairavi thumri "Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Jaay has been sung by several prominent singers, but the version most remembered is by Kundan Lal Saigal for the 1930s movie Street Singer.

In a strange manner this sad song epitomises the pain and agony of the poet king himself when he was exiled from his beloved Lucknow.

Devanagari Lyrics

बाबुल मोरा, नैहर छूटो ही जाए
बाबुल मोरा, नैहर छूटो ही जाए

चार कहार मिल, मोरी डोलिया सजावें (उठायें)
मोरा अपना बेगाना छूटो जाए | बाबुल मोरा ...

आँगना तो पर्बत भयो और देहरी भयी बिदेश
जाए बाबुल घर आपनो मैं चली पीया के देश | बाबुल मोरा ...

Urdu Lyrics

بابُل مورا، نیہر چھُوٹو ہی جائے
بابُل مورا، نیہر چھُوٹو ہی جائے

چار کہار مِل، موری ڈولِیا سجاویں (اُٹھایّں)
مورا اَپنا بیگانا چھُوٹو جائے ، بابُل مورا۔۔۔

آںگنا تو پربت بھیو اؤر دیہری بھیی بِدیش
جائے بابُل گھر آپنو میں چلی پیّا کے دیش ، بابُل مورا ۔۔۔

In popular culture

Timeline

Preceded by
Naser ad-Dowla Amjad `Ali Thorayya Jah Shah		 Padshah-e-Oudh, Shah-e Zaman
13 Feb 1847 – 7 Feb 1856 		Succeeded by
Berjis Qadr (in rebellion)

References

External links

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