Aesthetics of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah

Wajid Ali Shah Akhtar, the last ruler of Awadh (capital of Lukhnow), had a complex personality and this complexity of personality made him controversial. If, on the one hand, the British took every effort to destroy his character by declaring him an incompetent and sybaritic ruler for the purpose of occupying Awadh. Only one thing can be said for sure about Wajid Ali Shah and that is even if he had not been a ruler, history would have remembered him for his patronage of literature and arts and his practical involvement in them. If he was not a writer and an artist but only a ruler, there would not have been more than a few lines for him in the pages of history. Wajid Ali Shah's name was Mirza Muhammad Wajid Ali and literary name was Akhtar which he also used as "Akhtar Piya '' in his Thumris (Classical Music Genre).

Born on July 30, 1822, Wajid Ali Shah was educated under the tutelage of Amin-ud-Daula Imdad Hasan, who also gave his name to the famous market of Lucknow, Aminabad. He developed his skills in various disciplines during his studies and later through personal exploration. His passion for poetry started at 18, and he authored three Masnavis and his first Dewan during his reign. Despite having an elder brother, Mir Mustafa Haider, Wajid Ali was nominated as the crown prince in 1842 after his father, Amjad Ali's, ascension to the throne.

Wajid Ali's literary and cultural life began at a time when there seemed no possibility of him becoming a king. Long before he became a king, he had become a writer and musician. Beauty was in his nature and he had a natural affinity with dance and music. He was innovative which is prominent in his poems, plays and constructions. Wajid Ali was married at the age of 15 to the daughter of Nawab Yusuf Ali Khan Bahadur Samsam Jang.

During the reign of the Crown Prince, the service of the royal treasury was entrusted to him and his work was to read the petitions of the beggars, enforce the royal decrees, keep an eye on the news of the city and other places and find out the prices of grain and other commodities. The rest of the time he spent in private pursuits. However, he kept himself away from politics. After the death of his father in 1847, he became the king and adopted the title of Abu-ul-Muzaffar Nasiruddin Sikandar Jah Badshah Adil Qaiser Zaman Sultan Alam. As a king, Wajid Ali Shah acted with justice and did not take any step that would spread fear and terror among his dependents.

Contrary to the general constitution, he retained most of the officials of his father's time in their posts, but increased their salaries and privileges and tried to be closer to the subjects. It was only two years into his reign that he fell seriously ill and it took him ten months to recover. The physicians urged him to abandon the preoccupations of managing the empire and spend more of his time in sightseeing. Thus, he handed over the affairs of the kingdom to Nawab Ali Naqi, the father of his new wife, Roshan Ara Begum, and engaged in the patronage of literature, poetry, composition and art. And so engaged that time has made them what they are famous or infamous for.

His contemporary Abdul Halim Sharar writes, "Wajid Ali's scholarly humor was very pure and of a high level. In fact, he had two tastes. One was for literature and poetry and the other for music. He was not a scholar of Arabic, but he was proficient in Persian and used to write prose of two or four stanzas. He was so fluent in writings that he wrote hundreds of eulogies and salutations and wrote so many books in prose and poetry that even today no one can count them".

Wajid Ali Shah was deposed in 1856 and spent his last 31 years in MatiaBurj until his death in 1887. Despite being an "extinct person," this period proved creatively fruitful. He wrote about a hundred books on various topics, including two magazines on poetry meters. He invented sixty-one new poetry meters and named them, showcasing his literary genius.

Kundanlal Sehgal is renowned for composing numerous songs and traditional rhymes that made classical music accessible and popular. He is credited with popularizing Lucknowi thumri and Bhairvi, and his Bhirwin Thamri "Babul Mora Nehar Chhuto Hi Jaye" is a timeless classic. He elevated the art of Natak, which was once considered lowly, from the streets to the palaces, and is credited with introducing Urdu drama to the country. His play Radha-Kanhiya, written during his reign, is considered the first play in Urdu. Sehgal's influence on Indian music and theater is undeniable, and his contributions have left a lasting impact on the country's cultural heritage.

Wajid Ali Shah, a philanthropist and writer, prepared several plays including "Afsana e Ishq," "Darya e Tashuq," and "Behr e Ulfat," for which he constructed Qaisar Bagh, Rehs Manzil, and other buildings. His autobiography, Parikhana, details events from his youth to age 26, including love and expatriation. During his reign, Wajid Ali Shah also expanded the royal library and composed poetry while imprisoned in Kolkata, one of which was recited by Johnnie Walker in the movie Choo Mantar.

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