The 8th Annual Wajid Ali Shah Festival ‘Dil-e-Nazuk’ and ‘Dastaan-e-Wajid Ali Shah’ was celebrated in Lucknow last evening.
The fest, presented by Rumi Foundation – Lucknow Chapter, was conceived and directed by noted filmmaker Muzaffar Ali.
It featured mesmerising dance and poetry performances by Shivani Varma, Himanshu Bajpayee and Pragya Sharma.
The fest celebrated the persona of Wajid Ali Shah, who was not only a ruler but a great connoisseur of art, music and culture.
Rumi Foundation established the Wajid Ali Shah Festival in 2013 to conserve the ‘composite culture’ of the Awadh region.
Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, was an icon who introduced a larger-than-life taste for the joy of living, for celebration of culture, poetry, ghazal, thumri, dadra and kathak.