Wajid Ali Shah

A large number of composers who thrived under the lavish patronage of the Nawab rulers of Lucknow enriched the light classical form of thumri; the most prominent among these was Wajid Ali Shah. He was not only a munificent patron of music, dance, drama, and poetry but was also 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 Mian Tansen and were the sons of famous Tanseni Chajju Khan. Bahadur Hussain Khan was the descendant of Tansen's son-in-law Naubat Khan, and was one of Wajid Ali Shah's favorite musicians, so much that the Nawab bestowed upon the singer the title Zia-ud-Daulah. Although Wajid Ali Shah's poetic takhallus was "Qaisar", he used the pseudonym "Akhtarpiya" for his musical compositions. Under this name, he wrote over forty works – poems, prose and thumris. The collections Diwan-i-Akhtar and Husn-i-Akhtar contain his ghazals. He is said to have composed many new ragas and named them Jogi, Juhi, Shah-Pasand, etc.

The source for much information on music in Nawabi Lucknow comes from the text Ma’danul Moosiqui ('The Mine of Music') of Hakim Mohammed Karam Imam, courtier of Wajid Ali Shah.[9] During his time, complicated ragas like hori and dhrupad were ignored and easier raginis like tilak, pilu, sendura, khammach, bhairvi and jhanjhauti were encouraged. As these were liked by the king and easily understood by all sections of the society. They came to be well-loved by the commoners. Wajid Ali Shah has been accused of cheapening the classical tradition and promoting lighter forms of music such as ghazals and thumris. But then, as argued by scholars like Ravi Bhatt, this is how popular music has always been criticised.[10] Popular belief has it that the light classical form, thumri was created by Wajid Ali Shah.

However, James Kippen argued that evidence suggests that thumri had almost certainly already become an independent vocal form somewhat influenced by khayal by 1800, becoming extremely popular and pervasive in the time of Wajid Ali Shah. Wajid Ali wrote and performed ghazals, and the modern-day style of ghazals was certainly evolved by his innovative ideas and experimentations in ghazals, some of which were noted for their inclusion of obscenities and sexually explicit references to his own private life.[11]

Not only music but dance also developed strongly in Lucknow and became a pre-eminent art under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah. In the ancient times Kathak being the part of the temple ritual was performed at temples. With the change of time the Kathak performers in search of better prospects and rich patronage left the temple and entered into royal courts. The transformation was inevitable. The dance started adapting itself to the demands of the court, but it was under the artistic guidance and patronage of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, that Kathak achieved greater dimensions.

He gave it a definite form, made it more artistic, and gave to it an aesthetic touch, he enriched it with rasa and bhava, and he added literature to it, lent it sensuality, and furnished it with grandeur and splendor to its presentation, argued Abdul Halim Sharar.[12] During this period, Kathak was also extensively performed by tawaifs, who themselves developed the art in parallel to its refinement in court. They frequently performed on lighter classical music of such as dadra, kajri and tappa as well as thumri. Given the tawaifs' environment, their performance style of Kathak also differed from the court style, involving more of what in Kathak is termed nakhra (mischievous playfulness).[13]

Wajid Ali Shah started two distinct forms one is Rahas and the other one is called Raas. He himself choreographed a dance based on the moves of Kathak called, Rahas, that he danced himself with the ladies of his court. For him, Rahas was a dramatic form of theatre including acting, dancing, and music and with different scenes the whole setting and locale changes. On the other hand, Raas was purely a religious form. Primarily Dhrupad was sung in Raas and the performance began with its singing. Raas was a circular form of dance where many gopis danced with one Krishna. Radhakamal Mukerjee in his book, The Lord of the Autumn Moons, says that the Raspancadhyayi or the five chapters pertaining to the circular group dance of Krishna with the Gopis, distill the embody the full maturity of the mystical emotions.[14]

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. It was during his reign that Lucknow Gharana came into existence. It was in this period that the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak attained maturity, through the efforts of the stalwarts like Thakur Prasadji and others. The Lucknow style of Kathak dance is characterized by graceful movements, elegance and natural poise with dance. Abhinaya, concern for movement shape and creative improvisations are the hallmarks of this style. He not only made Kathak the official court dance, but using it in performances of rahas made it popular among the people.[15]

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 the 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, when his favourite venue, the Qaisarbagh Baradari was built, he began to stage his magnificent Rahas (a Persianised name for Rasleela) full of sensuous poetry, his own lyrical compositions and glamorous Kathak dances.[16]

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 the Goddess Radha, Lord Krishna, several sakhis, and a Vidushaka-like character named "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.[17]

African eunuch (3rd from left) and African queen Yasmin (2nd from right) at the court of Wajid Ali Shah

Like the performing arts, Wajid Ali Shah also patronised literature and several poets and writers in his court. Notable among them were 'Barq', 'Ahmad Mirza Sabir', 'Mufti Munshi', and 'Aamir Ahmad Amir', who wrote books at the orders of Wajid Ali Shah, Irshad-us-Sultan and Hidayat-us-Sultan, Amanat the famous author of Indra Sabha and Bekhud wrote Jalwa-Akhatar, Hajjo Sharaf and Afsana-i-Lucknow have presented a picture of the times and life of Wajid Ali Shah. The famous poet Mirza Ghalib also received the gracious patronage of Wajid Ali Shah, who granted him a pension of Rupees five hundred per year in 1854.[18]

Wajid Ali Shah used to write himself and was a poet of a considerable merit. He used to write under the nom-de-plume of ‘Akhtar’. He had equal command over Persian and Urdu and wrote several books in both languages. According to his court chronicler Masih-ud-Din he received a liberal western education and was well versed in ancient and modern history and literature. Garcin de Tassy, while travelling in the sub-continent during the mid-nineteenth century wrote in his journal about Wajid Ali Shah and noted, "I do not have to appreciate here this very political resolution, neither do I have to appreciate the qualities or defects of Wajid Ali Shah, as a sovereign, but I am interested in him as a distinguished scholar and as eminent poet in Hindustani".[19]

Wajid Ali Shah wrote extensively and adopted a simple language that easily conveyed meaning to all. It showed sprinkling of Awadhi, the local dialect. He was a prolific writer. His work Sawat-ul-Qalub runs into 1061 pages and comprises a collection of 44,562 couplets, and was completed in a short span of three years.[20]

Abdul Lais Siddiqi in Lucknow Ka Dabistan-i-Shairi noted that it was common for kings to employ poets to write on their behalf but this was not true of Wajid Ali Shah, and every single word has been written by himself and no one else.[21] One of his most important works is the autobiographical Huzn-i-Akhtar, which is in verse and contains nearly 1276 couplets. It is faithful records of the hazardous journey that he undertook from Lucknow to Calcutta, after having relinquished his crown. It speaks of the unkind and unceremonious treatment accorded to him by the British authorities. Vivid details of the people and the places he encountered on his journey. It also evokes his desperation at his arrest and subsequent deportment to Calcutta's Matiya Burj. Another important work of his is Bani which runs into 400 pages.

It is a treatise on Music and Dance, which offers details of the mushairas held at Matiya Burj, of the buildings raised there at his command. There are also descriptions of the animals at his personal zoo, besides vignettes of life and the time at Matiya Burj. Although it is estimated that he wrote over 60 books but most of his works are not available and hence no critical assessment of his writing has been made till date.[22]