Heritage trail gives peep into era of Nawabs

Lucknow: Did you know that Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who was also a poet and playwright, was hard of hearing because his tutor had once slapped him?
This little known anecdote, among many otherss, was shared during the heritage walk organised under the banner of Wajid Ali Shah Awadh Mahotsav, on Sunday.
Moderating the event, city-based historian Ravi Bhatt unravelled some of the mysteries surrounding the erstwhile nawabs and the heritage and monuments of Lucknow.
“Wajid Ali Shah was slapped by his teacher on his ear because he was creating a rhythmic reverberation using his feet during one of his lectures. The punishment took a toll on his hearing capacity. However, when the last ruler of Awadh ascended to the throne, he gave the position of ‘wazir’ to the same teacher,” said Bhatt.
Talking about Wajid Ali Shah, he informed the visitors about how the nawab got the palace complex constructed at Kaiserbagh which consisted of various divisions like Rahas Manzil (Rahas is derived from ‘raas’ or theatre) which was used for the purpose of entertainment.