The Begum and the Dastan tells moving tales of pride,loss and courage of women behind the purdah trapped in the rich, splendid world of the Nawabs and sardars.
Delivery: We are a small, independent bookstore and shipping times may be slightly longer than usual.
Please allow 2-4 business days for your order to be processed and shipped. We appreciate your patience.
We will notify you by email as soon as your order ships.
Print on demand publications require additional preparation. See the shipping section below for details.
In 1897 in the princely state of Sherpur, Feroza Begum, beautiful and wilful, defies her family to attend the sawani celebrations at Nawab Shams Ali Khan’s Benazir Palace. Feroza is kidnapped and detained in the Nawab’s glittering harem, her husband is forced to divorce her, and her family disowns her. Reluctantly, Feroza marries the Nawab, and is compelled to negotiate the glamour and sordidness of the harem.
In the bazaar chowk, Kallan Mirza, a skilled dastango, spins a hauntingly familiar tale of a despotic sorcerer, Tareek Jaan, and his grand illusory city, the Tilism-e-Azam, where women are confined in underground basements. As Kallan descends deeper into an opium addiction, the boundaries of fantasy and reality begin to blur.
And in the present day, Ameera listens to Dadi narrating the tale of Feroza Begum, Ameera’s great-grandmother. Confined to her house because her parents haven’t paid her school fees, Ameera takes comfort from Dadi’s story. As her world disintegrates, she is compelled to ask herself if anything has changed for Sherpur’s women.
Author:
Tarana Husain Khan
Publisher:
Westland Publications
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
280
Year of Publication:
2021
Edition:
First
Condition:
New
Country of Origin:
India
About the Author
The author is a writer and cultural historian. Her writings on the oral history, culture and the famed cuisine of the erstwhile princely state of Rampur have appeared in prominent publications such as scroll.in, Eaten Magazine, The Wire and in the anthologies Desi Delicacies (Pan Macmillan, India) and Dastarkhwan: Food Writing from South Asia and Diaspora ( Beacon Books, UK). She hosts and curates a website on Rampur culture and oral history. She lives between Rampur and Nainital with her husband.
Shipping
This book will be shipped in 2-4 working days' time. The time taken for you to receive the book after it is shipped will depend upon the mode you choose, while completing your purchase. The rates applicable for each mode are different.
You will be informed after the order is shipped.
Shipping costs depend on the mode chosen, the weight of the item, and the distance it will travel to reach its destination. Shipping costs will be charged depending on the weight of the entire purchase (if more than one item is purchased). The same shipping mode will apply to all products in such a case.
