Umrao Jan Ada, published more than a hundred years ago, was the first true novel in Urdu. It tells the story of a Lucknawi courtesan, a woman of great charm with a reputation as a brilliant poet and singer. Documented by a close friend and supposedly dictated by Umrao Jan, the novel weaves the courtesan's story with interspersions of poetry, exploration of social dynamics, and the author's radical subtext with regard to patriarchal double standards. Umrao Jan Ada ...
