His second wife, Muhammadi Khanum, better known as the Begum Hazrat Mahal, rose against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 as the regent of Awadh.

However, the EIC refrained from annexing the remainder of the kingdom because they needed a buffer state between their territories to the east and south, and the Mughal Empire to the north.

[7] In his book "Awadh Under Wajid Ali Shah", Dr. G.D. Bhatnagar[8] gives the following assessment of this ill-starred prince: Cast by providence for the role of an accomplished dilettante, he found himself a misfit for the high office to which he was elevated by chance.

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.

[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.

Wajid Ali Shah has been accused of cheapening the classical tradition and promoting lighter forms of music such as ghazals and thumris.

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.

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.

For him, Rahas was a dramatic form of theatre including acting, dancing, and music and with different scenes the whole setting and locale changes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

[citation needed] HEA Cotton wrote that on Panic Sunday (14 June 1857), there was widespread apprehension among the European inhabitants of Kolkata because he had "one, two, three thousand" (no one knew) armed men under him.

[24] After his release from Fort William, he was allotted a building called BNR House in Garden Reach near the headquarter of South Eastern Railway, Calcutta.

The banished king had been "given" a number of fine houses with vast grounds stretching along the banks of the river Hooghly three to four miles south of Kolkata.

آنگن تو پربت بھئیو اور ڈیری بھئی بدیش अंगना तो पर्बत भयो और देहरी भयी बिदेस āngan to parbat bhayo aur dehrī bhayī bidesh Your courtyard is now like a mountain, and the threshold, a foreign country.

جائے بابل گھر آپنوں میں چلی پیا کے دیس जाए बाबुल घर आपनो मैं चली पिया के देस jāye bābul ghar āpnoṃ meṃ chalī pīyā ke desh I leave your house, father, I am going to my beloved.