A Nawab and a Begum

A debauched ruler, who was a proponent of arts and culture while the East India Company confiscated his prosperous kingdom, or an unlikely hero, who had a crown of thorns placed on his head when he was meant for the finer things in life? History has not been kind to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. Never an astute ruler, the confiscation of his kingdom by the British was a bloodless exercise. However, his legacy thrives on, not just as the last king of Awadh but also as the last great patron of arts and splendour, who stayed true to himself until the end and created his own realm, even in exile. And then there was Hazrat Mahal, a courtesan who rose in the annals of history as Begum Hazrat Mahal, the warrior queen. The British had assessed the King well but made a fatal mistake by underestimating his wife. It was the Begum who went on to teach a lesson to the till-then-invincible East India Company. Unprecedented in the history of India, native sepoys and volunteers rallied behind Begum Hazrat Mahal, willing to sacrifice their lives for their motherland. This is a story of a nawab and a begum. With simultaneous biographies knit together in one book, this is an attempt to explore the enigmatic relationship between Wajid Ali Shah and his unsung warrior queen, Begum Hazrat Mahal.