Author: Mirza Mohd Haadi Ruswa
Translator(s): Khushwant Singh
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 286
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8172235070
Description
Umrao Jan Ada tells the story of a Lucknawi courtesan, a woman of great charm and a reputation as a poet and singer. The book re-creates the ambience of old Lucknow and takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the palaces of wealthy nawabs and the hideouts of colorful vagabonds to the luxurious abodes of the city's courtesans. It captures the culture and the decadence of a way of life that has vanished forever.
Old Lucknow is now but a dream, but this work preserves for posterity the full flavor of that golden age in the history of the city, which comes to life in the pages of this book.
We enter the palaces of wealthy nawabs, the luxurious abodes of cultured courtesans, and the hideouts of colorful vagabonds. The courtesans - our immediate concern - were on the whole well-read and exceedingly proficient in the arts of dancing and singing.
In the pages of this charming book, we find pieced together an exquisite civilization that will never recur, and warm human emotions that are eternal.