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.