Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab of Awadh, apart from being a much-loved ruler, was a great patron of creative arts, and was himself a well-known writer, poet, singer and dancer. He was overthrown because of a conspiracy by the British East India Company due to a clause in the treaty of 1801 between the company and the then nawab, which allowed it to overtake territorial administration at any point. Awadh, being a principality of fertile lands and rich culture, was much coveted by the company.
After the annexation, Shah was exiled to Matiabruz, a suburb near Kolkata in West Bengal with a generous pension. At this time the 34-year-old regretted taking the throne in his early 20s because he was enamoured by its opulence. And as he was leaving home, he wrote and composed his most well-known song, Babul mora nahiar chhuto hi jao [Father I’m compelled to leave my birthplace].
This is the story Malhaar, the Dubai-based Indian musical ensemble, will bring on stage in its biggest production to date, at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, on Friday, as part of its series Jashn-e-Awadh — a unique musical journey to the land of Nawabs.
“It is actually Jashn-e-Awadh 2.0, where you will get to watch a much bigger, spectacular and better production compared to the one staged half-a-decade ago,” Jogiraj Sikidar, founder of Malhaar told tabloid!. “This time we have 14 classically trained singers — some new voices — performing live on stage along with seven musicians who will be playing [the music instruments] sarangi, sitar, flute, keyboard, guitar and tabla”.
A 70-member team including stage performers and backstage coordinators will be handling the production, says Sikidar. Apart from having about 50 people on stage, a large production team will manage props, costumes, make-up, etc. This is the first time Malhaar will be using multiple LED screens to showcase the opulence of the Awadhi courts, which took over seven months to create.
Learning from experts
Another first with this show is the lead actor Anupam Saxena (full disclosure: he is my brother), a Dubai-based entrepreneur, who had to learn how to perform on stage in just about a month. Not only will the 48-year-old have to act and sing on stage, he has to do a few steps of Kathak, which was a real challenge he says.
“It has been a daunting and challenging experience as everything from body posture to intonation had to be measured and controlled,” said Saxena. “But I got to learn from experts in a very short time. With tears on and offstage, and just watching the tremendous effort others put in, motivates one to give his best too. However, the moment of truth can only be witnessed on stage”.
When we asked play director Sanjeev Dixit why he chose a newbie for his biggest production, he said: “I enjoy working with new actors. As long as he or she has the inherent ‘something’ that a director is looking for and is willing to learn and grow, a new actor can change the dynamic of a production with his or her approach and freshness. In this particular case I was looking for an actor who could pull off the archaic Urdu with aplomb as well as look the part of the last Nawab of Awadh. I think the audience is in for a treat when they see all the elements of music, dance, and the theatre coming together”.
Dixit has been involved with Jashn-e-Awadh since its first performance, as director, actor or writer. He said the biggest challenge he faced with this production was that he had to travel just before the show to Los Angeles with another play, Treteau, which he has created with Dubai-based theatre group Third Half Theatre.
Sense of cohesiveness
“In hindsight however, it allowed us to bring forward deadlines to ensure that everything was more or less in place before I left. I believe this will result in a tighter and more impactful show,” Dixit said. “The other challenge was to bring a sense of cohesiveness and unity to the final presentation”.
As for the music of this show, Sikidar, who is co-composer of the show with Somdutta Basu, tells us that a lot of the compositions are original pieces that were written and performed by the nawab himself.
“The legacy of Lucknow gharana [house] is so rich and fascinating that summarising its magical brilliance into a two-hour show, has been a huge challenge. Though it was an uphill task to choose from the vast tapestry of his music, we have tried to retain the authenticity and the different musical flavours despite adapting it to choir singing,” said Sikidar. “Any depiction of the Lucknow gharana would be incomplete without mentioning Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and his immense contribution. He revived the magic of the gharana during his short reign and today, centuries later, we are still basking in the brilliance of the nawab’s contribution that wafts in the air like the strains of a thumri”.
Don’t miss it
Jashn-e-Awadh — a unique musical journey to the land of Nawabs, will be held at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, on Friday, September 30 and October 1. Tickets start at Dh75, log on to ductac.org
