Wajid Ali Shah lived for the arts and left his mark on thumri, the sitar, and kathak. Such was his creative aura that those who were considered proficient became minnows before him. Even in exile from his beloved Lucknow to far away Calcutta, Wajid Ali Shah used the farewell of a bride from her father’s home as a metaphor for his banishment while singing his own creation babul mora naihar chhooto jaye, a timeless classical thumri in raag bhairavi.Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was neither a ruler of a huge empire, nor did he rule for long. The erstwhile ruler of Awadh in Lucknow is embedded in popular imagination as the ill-fated king, an opulence-loving character who lost his throne to the British. Known for his eccentricities, Shah never wielded his sword but painted the canvas of his kingdom with the rich colours of music and dance. History often prefers narratives filled with battles and braveries, and that is perhaps the reason the British dethroned the king who pursued arts and aesthetics instead.It remains a mystery till date why Shah had his left breast and nipple artistically exposed between the gold borders of his royal dress all the time. Shah’s portrait in the picture gallery near the Husainabad Clock Tower in Lucknow was reportedly kept behind a curtain, because it is said that a British lady had fainted after seeing it.A creative soulBritish historian Rosie Llewellyn-Jones constructed the imagery of the king through many facets of his personal and political life in The Last King of India. She wrote that the actual reign of the poet-ruler had lasted only nine years (1847-56) but the erstwhile ruler spent the last 30 years of his life as a deposed ruler (on pension from the British East India Company) at Garden Reach near Calcutta (now Kolkata), ruling a mock-kingdom with 6,000 subjects. Even in exile against all odds, he had continued pursuing his interests in arts and culture.However, a deep dive into the realities of the 19th century reveals the real persona of the misunderstood king, who was undoubtedly less of a ruler and more of a poet and a creative soul. Kaukub Quder Sajjad Ali Meerza, the great grandson of Wajid Ali Shah, challenges colonial narratives and highlights his artistic contributions, painting Awadh’s last ruler as a major cultural force in his book Wajid Ali Shah.Originally written in Urdu, the 600-page volume has been translated by Talat Fatima, the great-great granddaughter of Wajid Ali Shah, to widen its reach and correct historical misunderstandings. It introduces readers to Shah’s lesser-known talents in poetry, drama, and architecture, and restores a neglected voice in rich cultural heritage.As the book suggests, Shah excelled in many fields of art and creativity. A teetotaller all his life, he had a fascination for Lord Krishna, and was sometimes referred to as Kanhaiya, which was reflected through his passion for grand theatrical events. Had he been born a century later, Shah undoubtedly would have found a career in the film world, with the chance to realise, on an epic scale, the dance dramas he had directed in Lucknow — some of which lasted for over a month.Wajid Ali Shah loved writing masanvi (free from rhyming verse), the longest of which has as many as 48,150 couplets. At the age of 26, he composed Ishq Nama to express his temporal love and at the age of 62, expressed his divine love through Sabatul Quloob. Written in Persian, both of these reflect class.It is a brilliantly told historical account of a creative king who remained woefully misunderstood during his time, but one who comes out as a man of character who lived his life on his own terms.The reviewer is an independent writer, researcher and academicTitle: Wajid Ali Shah: A Cultural and Literal LegacyAuthor: Kaukub Quder Sajjad Ali MeerzaTranslated by: Talat FatimaPublisher: Hachette, New DelhiPrice: ₹1,299Published on August 23, 2026