Allahabad, early twentieth century. The British rule across India, but Avadhi culture is thriving. In this city where singers, musicians and poets assemble, a star emerges. Janki Bai Ilahabadi enthrals listeners wherever she performs, and counts as her fans maharajas and maharanis, poets and judges, nawabs and government officials-everyone. She is Janki 'Chhappan Chhuri', Janki of the fifty-six knives-attacked in her youth, she survives miraculously. Brought up in a nautch house, she rises to become the queen of Allahabad, her voice taking her from penury to palaces and royal durbars. Based on the real-life story of Hindustani singer Janki Bai Ilahabadi (1880-1934), Requiem in Raga Janki is the beautifully rendered tale of one of India's unknown gems. Moving from Hindustani classical music's earliest times to the age of the gramophone, from Tansen's mysticism to Hassu Khan's stringent opposition of recordings, this is a novel that brings to life a golden era of music through the eyes of a gifted performer.

About the Book A NUANCED AND POWERFUL MICROHISTORY SET AGAINST THE SWEEP OF INDIAN HISTORY. Dharmman Bibi rode into battle during the revolt of 1857 shoulder to shoulder with her patron lover Babu Kunwar Singh. Sadabahar entranced even snakes and spirits with her music, but eventually gave her voice to Baba Court Shaheed. Her foster mothers Bullan and Kallan fought their malevolent brother and an unjust colonial law all the way to the Privy Council—and lost everything. Their great-granddaughter Teema paid for the family’s ruination with her childhood and her body. Bindo, Asghari, Phoolmani, Pyaari … there are so many stories in this family. And you—one of the best-known tawaifs of your times—remember the stories of your foremothers and your own. This is a history, a multi-generational chronicle of one family of well-known tawaifs with roots in Banaras and Bhabua. Through their stories and self-histories, Saba Dewan explores the nuances that conventional narratives have erased, papered over or wilfully rewritten. In a not-so-distant past, tawaifs played a crucial role in the social and cultural life of northern India. They were skilled singers and dancers, and also companions and lovers to men from the local elite. It is from the art practice of tawaifs that kathak evolved and the purab ang thumri singing of Banaras was born. At a time when women were denied access to the letters, tawaifs had a grounding in literature and politics, and their kothas were centres of cultural refinement. Yet, as affluent and powerful as they were, tawaifs were marked by the stigma of being women in the public gaze, accessible to all. In the colonial and nationalist discourse of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this stigma deepened into criminalisation and the violent dismantling of a community. Tawaifnama is the story of that process of change, a nuanced and powerful microhistory set against the sweep of Indian history.

Allahabad, early twentieth century. The British rule across India, but Avadhi culture is thriving. In this city where singers, musicians and poets assemble, a star emerges. Janki Bai Ilahabadi enthrals listeners wherever she performs, and counts as her fans maharajas and maharanis, poets and judges, nawabs and government officials-everyone. She is Janki 'Chhappan Chhuri', Janki of the fifty-six knives-attacked in her youth, she survives miraculously. Brought up in a nautch house, she rises to become the queen of Allahabad, her voice taking her from penury to palaces and royal durbars. Based on the real-life story of Hindustani singer Janki Bai Ilahabadi (1880-1934), Requiem in Raga Janki is the beautifully rendered tale of one of India's unknown gems. Moving from Hindustani classical music's earliest times to the age of the gramophone, from Tansen's mysticism to Hassu Khan's stringent opposition of recordings, this is a novel that brings to life a golden era of music through the eyes of a gifted performer.

'[ Neelum Saran Gour's] prose shows a profound knowledge of the language and an even deeper understanding of the nuances of Indian society, culture and psyche' - The Telegraph '[Neelum Saran Gour] has a delightful way with words' - Anjum Hasan in The Indian Review of Books As youngsters in Bulbul Kothi, Allahabad, Rekha and Amina shared much: dolls, gossip, bits of adult-only knowledge. Perhaps nothing would have changed if Rekha's affair with Danish-bhai had not ended in bitterness and heartbreak. Now, after what seems like an eternity, they are back in each other's lives and they long to put the past to rest ... but can they? The age of cell phones, communal tension and terrorism exhumes the secrets they buried, revealing the brutal truth about what they once considered a simpler time. Neelum Saran Gour's loving narrative traces the journey of two friends in their search for closure and for a place 'where things are slow to change, where one could still find someone unchanged' ... for one thing is clear: their lives are now irrevocably altered.

Today, Indian writing in English is a fi eld of study that cannot be overlooked. Whereas at the turn of the 20th century, writers from India who chose to write in English were either unheeded or underrated, with time the literary world has been forced to recognize and accept their contribution to the corpus of world literatures in English. Showcasing the burgeoning field of Indian English writing, this encyclopedia documents the poets, novelists, essayists, and dramatists of Indian origin since the pre-independence era and their dedicated works. Written by internationally recognized scholars, this comprehensive reference book explores the history and development of Indian writers, their major contributions, and the critical reception accorded to them. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Indian Writing in English will be a valuable resource to students, teachers, and academics navigating the vast area of contemporary world literature.

The University of Allahabad is the fourth oldest university in India, an institution that has produced innumerable political figures, jurists, bureaucrats, writers and men of letters. Its history resounds with famous names and its inspiring and entertaining campus lore has been passed down for decades. The story of the university has been enriched by the many constituent stories of the personalities therein, European and Indian. It counts, amongst its luminaries, Motilal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Dr Meghnad Saha, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Dharamvir Bharti and many more. Not to forget vice chancellors like Sir Sunder Lal, Ganganatha Jha and Amarnatha Jha, who were legends in themselves. In this book, Neelum Saran Gour fondly recalls the many stories and anecdotes associated with the University to put together a comprehensive history of this iconic institution. Starting from the inception of the college at what was then Lowther Castle to its present-day status, she traces its long journey of almost 128 years, analyzing the history of the University against the backdrop of the emergence of the Indian nation. Along the way she also reflects on some of the unforgettable personalities that peopled the campus. A centre of high learning, a political hub during the national movement and a celebrated literary nucleus, the story of Allahabad University is one that deserves to be told and, more importantly, read by all.

**NOW SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD** "A writer of great subtlety and intelligence . . . a beautifully written and compelling story of how families fall apart and what remains of the aftermath" Kamila Shamsie, winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2018 "The book everyone is talking about for the summer" Lorraine Candy, Sunday Times In my childhood, I was known as the boy whose mother had run off with an Englishman" - so begins the story of Myshkin and his mother, Gayatri, who is driven to rebel against tradition and follow her artist's instinct for freedom. Freedom of a different kind is in the air across India. The fight against British rule is reaching a critical turn. The Nazis have come to power in Germany. At this point of crisis, two strangers arrive in Gayatri's town, opening up for her the vision of other possible lives. What took Myshkin's mother from India to Dutch-held Bali in the 1930s, ripping a knife through his comfortingly familiar environment? Excavating the roots of the world in which he was abandoned, Myshkin comes to understand the connections between anguish at home and a war-torn universe overtaken by patriotism. Anuradha Roy's enthralling novel is a powerful parable for our times, telling the story of men and women trapped in a dangerous era uncannily similar to the present. Impassioned, elegiac, and gripping, it brims with the same genius that has brought Roy's earlier fiction international renown. "One of India's greatest living authors" - O, The Oprah Magazine "Roy's writing is a joy" - Financial Times

Young Ramchand rushes through the dusty streets of Amritsar, once again late for work. Chastised by his boss, he takes his place among the cottons and silks of the sari shop, selling yards of cloth to the wealthy and fashionable women of the town. Offered a glimpse of a more opulent world, Ramchand is seduced by the idea that he might somehow better himself. But making dreams real will come at a price that a poor shop assistant might not be able to pay ... Funny, compelling and unflinchingly honest, The Sari Shop is a heartbreaking story of a young man's struggle to be someone else and a brilliantly clear-sighted debut.

Filled with serpent kings, long lost lovers, magical birds and seductive witches, The Legend of Himal and Nagrai is an enchanting collection of folk tales from a land as beautiful as it is misunderstood--Kashmir. In the title story, the serpent king Nagrai takes on human form to be with his one true love--the princess Himal. But despite Nagrai's warnings, when Himal doubts her lover's origins, all hell breaks loose. Will the star-crossed lovers ever be together? In 'Akanandun', having pined for a son for years, a couple is finally blessed with a beautiful boy--but on one diabolical condition. Will the couple be able to keep their word? In 'Shikaslad', a pauper goes on a quest to awaken his luck, which has been 'asleep' for years. Will he recognize good luck staring him in the face? These and twenty-six other delightful folk tales--painstakingly collected and retold by the author--bring to light the immensely rich, multicultural and largely undocumented tradition of storytelling in Kashmir. At a time when Kashmiri voices are being brutally silenced by an authoritarian state, this book is a vibrant tapestry celebrating Kashmiri life--in the words of its people.