Contemporary writers never mentioned that Wajid Ali Shah used to dance. The narration of some writers of the 20th century, who say that Wajid Ali Shah never danced in any period of time, is as ridiculous as the common belief that Wajid Ali Shah danced on the streets of Lucknow during the festival of Holi. Art is neither Hindu nor Muslim, and an artist is neither low nor deplorable. The days are gone when one used to say

“Singing, dancing is appalling (laa’nat hai). Hazrat Wajid Ali Shah was a King, but people are sarcastic about him too.”

Wajid Ali Shah danced; he mentions this himself. He was an inventor of this art. This is evident from the photographs and narrations which are found in abundance in Bani. He was a master of this art, as is confirmed by the fact that Badshah Pasand Lucknavi, Qaim Khan, Qalander Bakhsh, Haider Ali, Md Hussain Bishan, and Gulam Abbas were his pupils. He had an aesthetic interest in his art, and what better way to prove this, than the fact that in Bani, the illustration of various “quavers” use male images, and there is no mention of the female figure. But when the same “quavers” were...

Read more