Richard Williams

The book explores the life of the “colourful king”, who was also a poet, lyricist and dancer, and his passion for all things musical, first in his court in Lucknow, and later in the suburbs of Calcutta, where he was exiled by the East India Company. It was a time when the Indian subcontinent was transitioning between the Mughal Empire and British Colonialism, and change was in the air, says Williams, and Wajid Ali Shah was at the centre of this new riff.  

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Excerpts from the interview.

You write about Wajid Ali Shah’s court travelling from Lucknow to Calcutta, at a time when the Mughal Empire gave way to British colonialism—what were the major musical changes that took place at the time?
After the revolt of 1857, people thought everything changed. Music was not meant for kings anymore, it was meant for the masses. It was not just about kathak and thumri, but about Hindu intellectuals and nationalist music. My book complicates that notion. Wajid Ali was a great patron, but he was also a poet, lyricist, dancer, choreographer and played the sitar and drums. What was really happening was that he was experimenting—he invited the street singers in his courts, and was also a fan of female dancers who did khemta, which was all about the movement of the hips. He was criticised for being too effeminate, but he was a trendsetter. He even developed musical theatre.
 
That sounds like an exciting time...
Yes, it was. Two other developments happened then. Gramophone recordings started, and that changed the aesthetics of music, and how it was performed. Many recording artistes had connections to his court. Also, the morality angle towards women in music was changing. They were no longer supposed to be only courtesans and prostitutes. In fact, reform campaigns to change that perception were on.
 
You also speak about his wife Alam Ara, who was better known as Khas Mahal, and how she affected the music of that time.
She was wonderful. She wrote lyrics, thumris, and the two collaborated on many compositions. In fact, she held hush hush music parties in her house. Women were not supposed to do music, but slowly, I am discovering that there were many more women musicians at the time.
 
Is that going to be the subject of another work?
Yes (laughs).
 
Now that the book is out, what do you hope it will lead to?
I am hoping it gets people excited about this period. I hope they want to know more. We need to stop relying on English literature of the time, and dwell into Urdu and Bengali research about the same. There is so much to find out.