Wajid Ali Shah was the last Nawab of Awadh born in 1821, he became the Nawab of Awadh at the tender age of twenty-one years and ruled Awadh for over nine years till his kingdom was annexed by the East India Company. The Nawab and a huge influence on Awadhi culture, people and cuisine. He was a patron of fine arts, music and culture. It is said that when he was a baby, he would cry a lot and to keep him quite the maids would sing and play an instrument. Since those years the Nawab developed a love for music. He was also a keen dancer and had learnt Kathak.
The Nawab had built a place for all his three hundred plus wives and he called this the Pari Khana a palace made for fairies. Here the woman sang songs and danced to please Wajid Ali Shah. The man had spawned many children form his wives and had married hundred and twelve of them. He had enjoyed sex for the first time at the age if eight and had also enjoyed sex with African slave women from Arabia. He had written more than sixty books and was also enthralled by architecture. He had commissioned the Bhool Bhulaiya and many other buildings in his kingdom.
Along with Kathy he was also the inventor of Thumri style of dance. The Tawaif’s of his court would also dance the tappa, dadara and kajara form of dance keeping focus on the act of Nakhara in their dance which means it was more mischievous and playful. It was he who made Kathak the official court dance making it popular amongst the masses.
Th Nawab was obese and on the heavy and bulky side. He loved good food and helped create the Tunday Kabab’s. He was also the one who developed and polarized the Thumri along with many new Raga’s. The man was an artist, poet and a play write. He had written a famous drama the first Urdu play called “Kissa radha Krishna ke.” And in the play, he himself would dress up as Krishan and even play the flute. These plays would be performed Infront of the crowd in a dram hall and people loved the Nawab’s performance. He did have an image of a debauched man, who had more than 375 wives in his harem. The Nawab had more wives than their sheer ads in the year. But many of the stories have been refuted by scholars, many say that the Nawab was an astute administrator and had fought for his rights. He also wanted to meet the Queen and fought his exile till he had no option left but to be exiled to Calcutta. At the age of thirty-one the Nawab was de throned and sent to west Bengal where he stayed for thirty-one years till the end of his life.
Even in Calcutta he kept up with the Awadhi culture and introduced Awadhi cuisine to the people of Bengal.
