The Nawab's Tears

The Nawab's Tears

Author: Ajit Mani

Publisher: Notion Press

Published: 2023-02-27

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13:

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Professor Avaran Kuriakose specialises in the history of the Deccan. A former colleague and friend calls him to the erswhile princely state of Arcot to decipher a set of clues contained in a Masonic Lodge Minutes Book and a 250 year old diary. Avaran locates a long-lost family heirloom with a gory past. He is a Freemason and Knight Templar and knows his life is in danger because of his involvement in this assignment. The plot and the characters in the story are fictional, in an historical setting. Everyday political discussions give an insight into some of the tensions created by the spillovers of British rule. These include the English language; and 'Anglo-Indians' of mixed parentage, most of whom have migrated to the UK and Australia. Avaran's life is endangered when he visits the medieval Gingee Fort and again when he is assualted in a moving train by a jealous family member. A historically credible reconstruction of events attempt to explain the mysterious disappearance of the vast treasure of the Vijayanagara Empire.


The Tears of the Rajas

The Tears of the Rajas

Author: Ferdinand Mount

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-03-12

Total Pages: 809

ISBN-13: 1471129454

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The Tears of the Rajasis a sweeping history of the British in India, seen through the experiences of a single Scottish family. For a century the Lows of Clatto survived mutiny, siege, debt and disease, everywhere from the heat of Madras to the Afghan snows. They lived through the most appalling atrocities and retaliated with some of their own. Each of their lives, remarkable in itself, contributes to the story of the whole fragile and imperilled, often shockingly oppressive and devious but now and then heroic and poignant enterprise. On the surface, John and Augusta Low and their relations may seem imperturbable, but in their letters and diaries they often reveal their loneliness and desperation and their doubts about what they are doing in India. The Lows are the family of the author's grandmother, and a recurring theme of the book is his own discovery of them and of those parts of the history of the British in India which posterity has preferred to forget. The book brings to life not only the most dramatic incidents of their careers - the massacre at Vellore, the conquest of Java, the deposition of the boy-king of Oudh, the disasters in Afghanistan, the Reliefs of Lucknow and Chitral - but also their personal ordeals: the bankruptcies in Scotland and Calcutta, the plagues and fevers, the deaths of children and deaths in childbirth. And it brings to life too the unrepeatable strangeness of their lives: the camps and the palaces they lived in, the balls and the flirtations in the hill stations, and the hot slow rides through the dust. An epic saga of love, war, intrigue and treachery, The Tears of the Rajas is surely destined to become a classic of its kind.


The Musnud of Murshidabad

The Musnud of Murshidabad

Author: Purna Ch Majumdar

Publisher: Read Books Ltd

Published: 2021-01-08

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1528760301

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.


Greatest Short Stories

Greatest Short Stories

Author: Mulk Raj Anand

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 8172247494

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A born story teller,Dr. Mulk Raj Anand is one of the most outstanding short story writers. His contributions to the Indian short story is truly impressive. These short stories are selected from a collection of his writings over the last forty years. His stories reveal modes such as strong satire, uproarious laughter and acute psychological perception.


Lost Child And Other Stories

Lost Child And Other Stories

Author: Mulk Raj Anand

Publisher: Orient Paperbacks

Published: 2005-01-30

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 9788122203684

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About the author: mulk raj anand, an indian english language author who depicted the lives of the poorer castes in a traditional indian society anand, a novelist, short story writer, essayist and an art critic, is frequently referred to as the founding father of indo-english writing anands prolific writing career spanned over 75 years, during which he was widely identified with the quest for a just, equitable and forward looking india anand wrote extensively in areas as diverse as art and sculpture, politics, indian literature and the history of ideas he has been conferred with several awards including the sahitya akademi award in 1972 and the padma bhushan for his contribution to english literature


Dastan-e-Awadh

Dastan-e-Awadh

Author: Rakesh Bhasin

Publisher: Notion Press

Published: 2018-05-21

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 1642498823

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Awadh is synonymous in history with its eventful nawabi reign that lasted for over a century. Awadh’s dynasty was founded in a humble habitat on the banks of the River Saryu near Ayodhya. The place was named Faizabad and grew to become the political capital and a renowned centre of culture and prosperity under its successive nawabs. Faizabad’s tryst with its royalty lasted for over half a century before passing the baton to Lucknow, which became the new capital of Awadh. The new first city shed its old husk to adorn a fresh one. The praxis, customs, etiquettes, poetry, art and craft that its royalty fashioned remain alive to this day.


Shaam-e-Awadh

Shaam-e-Awadh

Author: Veena Talwar Oldenburg

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2007-11-06

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 9352140990

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In 1528 the Mughal Sultanate conquered and formally incorporated Awadh as one of its constituent provinces. With the decline of Mughal power the nawab-vazirs of Awadh began to assert their independence. After the East India Company appropriated half of Awadh as 'indenmity', the then nawab, Asaf'ud Daulah, moved his capital to Lucknow in 1775. A move that resulted in the growth of the city and its distinctive culture known as'Lakhnavi tehzeeb'. Since then, nawabi Lucknow has undergone enormous changes. The refinement of 'pehle aap' has all but disappeared. Originally built to support a hundred thousand people, amid palaces, gardens and orchards, the city now staggers under the burden of fifty times that number. Its unchecked growth and collapsed civic amenities are slowly draining the life and beauty of this once vibrant city. The rich and flamboyant culture has faded amidst the decay that has eaten into the fabric of the city and the corruption and treachery that permeate the government. In separate pieces William Dalrymple and Barry Bearak trace the decline of Lucknow---the city, its architecture, people, politics, governance---and the sad end of the havelis and their once grandiose occupants. The elegiac Marsia tradition of the Shias strives to be heard over angry chants of 'Hulla Bol' of political rallies in Mrinal Pande's account of her visit to the city. And, in his hyperbolic saga of seven generations of the fictional Anglo-Indian Trotter family, I. Allan Sealy meanders through two hundred years of Lucknow's chequered history. However, despite the apparent disintegration, Lucknow's ineffable spirit can still be found---in the tantalizing flavours of Lakhnavi cuisine; the delicate artistry of chikankari; the legendary courtesans and the defiant voice of the rekhti; the melodious notes of the ghazaI and the thumri ... Engaging and thoughtful, Shaam-e-Awadh: Writings on Lucknow celebrates the unique character of this city of carnivals and calamities.