Set against the opulent Mughal era, in the principality of Oudh between 1830 and 1857, The Oudh Quatrain is a musical that revolves around the lives of Oudh’s last King, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, and his second ‘nikahi’ wife, Begum Hazrat Mahal. It traces the latter’s rise from a commoner to a royalty to finally becoming the first woman to lead Oudh as its regent in 1857.
The play begins with Begum Hazrat Mahal beseeching her people to preserve Oudh. From then on the play transposes to the past and traces her journey as Muhammadi, an orphan, who is initiated into the Kotha as a dancer and singer. Her talent, beauty and intelligence win her a place first as a khawasin or an attendant in the royal harem and then as a wife of Prince Wajid Ali Shah, the second son of Nawab Amjad Ali Shah of Oudh.
The story transitions to the English quarters where the resident officers of East India Company contemplate on the successorship of the ailing Nawab Amjad Ali Shah. Taking advantage of the aspirations of Begum Mallika Kishwar, the second wife of theNawab, who wishes to see her son Wajid crowned as the next ruler, the English officers collude to accelerate the process.
Wajid is an artist and far removed in his disposition to be a ruler. He is not the heir apparent, and this relieves him to pursue his artistic endeavours. But with a twist of fate and invisible intervention of his mother, he finds himself being crowned as the tenth Nawab of Oudh as his father’s coffin leaves the palace gates.
The story meanders around the dreams, aspirations, and realities of Wajid Ali Shah; his formidable mother Mallika Kishwar; his first wife, Alam Ara; and his second wife, Hazrat Mahal. Their nafasat (decency), nazakat (delicacy) and sharafat (culture) clash with the aspirations of the elusive East India Company to create this eclectical production.
