Umrao Jan Ada is perhaps one of the most enigmatic and forgotten female figures in South Asian Literature. The question of her existence, her beauty, her scholarly abilities and her poetic gift remain a mystery. The book is an account of Umrao’s life as a Lucknawi courtesan, a nautch girl, delivered in first person by Umrao herself, and documented by a close friend. Written more than a hundred years ago, the novel recreates the gracious ambience of old Lucknow and takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the palaces of wealthy nawabs, the hideouts of the colorful vagabonds and the luxurious abodes of the city’s courtesans.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa
Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa was one of the finest Urdu prose writers of all times. He was a mathematician, an astronomer as well as a theologian. Ruswa was the head of the literary department of the All India Shia Conference and has written 20 volumes on the Shia religion. His book, Umrao Jan Ada was an immediate and thunderous success, with several editions of the book having sold out and was highly applauded by critics. Besides Umrao Jan, Akhtari Begum is another one of his highly acclaimed book. The author, Mirza Muhammad Hadi Rusva, was born in Lucknow around the time of the 1857 Indian Mutiny, which was a significant turning point not only in the life of the Princely States like Avadh (Oudh), but in the history of the country as a whole.
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