The ghost of the last Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh is said to haunt the dockyard in Calcutta. After being betrayed and abandoned by the British, he waits for a chance for revenge, just as he waits for his ship that never arrived.
Kolkata Dock, also known as Kidderpore Dock, is a historic maritime structure located along the banks of the Hooghly River in Kolkata, India. This bustling dockyard has played a key role in the history of maritime trade and industry in the city. The dock spans a significant stretch of the riverfront, characterised by an extensive network of jetties, quays and warehouses.
Kolkata Dock is also a maze of narrow lanes, bustling markets and lively waterfront promenades. Here, sailors, traders and dockers once mingled amid the hustle and bustle of daily life, their voices mingling with the sounds of creaking ships and crashing waves.
Today, while most of Kolkata Dock remains busy, parts of it have fallen into disrepair and decay, adding a touch of nostalgia and melancholy to the surroundings. Abandoned warehouses and crumbling piers are reminders of a bygone era.
It is also said that the Calcutta Dockyard is haunted by a very peculiar ghost.
Deposed King Haunts Calcutta Shipyard
The haunting gossip surrounding the dock has a surprisingly regal host. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh was the 11th and last king at the site. The kingdom was long protected by the East India Company after the British took over India, before they turned around and annexed the kingdom in 1856.
Wajid Ali Shah (واجد علی شاه) came after renouncing the throne and kingdom and wanted to get to London. He hoped that the British would give him shelter and live comfortably for the rest of his days. Arriving by steamer at Bichali Ghat near Kiddipore, he did not know that he would go no further.
He wanted to present his case to Queen Victoria because he believed in the British justice system. Instead, he was imprisoned in Fort William by them during the Indian uprising of 1857 because they believed he could be a figure mobilising the sepoys.
The government left him there on the banks of the Hooghly River with houses, and he spent the rest of his life in Calcutta, building a dock, devastated that he would never return to his beloved estate in Lucknow.
Many sources claim that Wajid Ali Shah was the one who built the dock and that is why it haunts him to this day. It is not known how much involvement the former king had in the dock, although we do know that he spent a lot of money on the construction during his exile in Calcutta, although mainly on lavish homes for himself in Garden Reach near the banks of the Hooghly River west of Kidderpore.
In fact, Kolkata Dockyard has existed in some form since the early 16th century, when the Portuguese arrived in Bengal. It was a rather compact port until the British East India Company became a major centre of maritime trade. The moist dock at Kidderpore was built in 1892 after merchants from Calcutta requested it.
The Spirit of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah
Now, centuries later, whispers circulate in the Calcutta dockyard of the Nawab's restless spirit, whose ghostly figure stalks the shadows, seeking revenge on the British who betrayed him.
The ghostly apparition of the Nawab is said to wander the Kolkata Dockyard, still bitter about the way the British treated him. Witnesses claim to have seen shadows flitting between the abandoned warehouses and crumbling jetties. The Nawab was fond of Indian classical music, and dock workers believe haunting musical notes can be heard in the area.
According to the story, his afterlife is also awaited by the spirits of soldiers and sailors who died in the Calcutta dockyard.
References:
11 Haunted Places In Kolkata That You Shouldn't Visit Alone
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