000			01568nam a22002297a 4500
005			20250512120842.0
008			250512b |||||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
037			_cGifted _nN.K Kannan Menon Foundation
041			_aEnglish
082			_aF _bMIR
100			_aMirza Hadi Ruswa
245			_aCOURTESAN OF LUCKNOW : Umrao Jan Ada
250			_a1
260			_aNew Delhi _bOrient Paperbacks - Hind Pocket Books
300			_g240
500			_aImmortal Urdu Classic By Mirza Ruswa. Translated by Khushwant Singh and M A Hussaini. Umrao Jan Ada is perhaps one of the most enigmatic and forgotten female figures in Indian Literature. The question of her existence, her beauty, her scholarly abilities and her poetic gift remains a mystery even today. The book is an account of Umrao's life as a Lucknawi courtesan, a nautch-girl, delivered in the first person by Umrao herself and documented by a close friend. First published more than 100 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 colourful vagabonds and the luxurious abodes of the city's courtesans. But more than evoking the ambience of a culture and decadence that was not merely aristocratic but inimitable, it is the complex characterisation of Umrao, and the life she lived as a courtesan, which makes the book memorable and significant.
650			_aNovel
650			_aFiction
700			_aKhushwant Singh (tr.) _aM A Hussaini (tr.)
942			_cREF
942			_2ddc
999			_c195212 _d195212