In late nineteenth century Lucknow, two rival story-tellers, Syed Muhammad Husain Jah and Ahmed Husain Qamar, wrote a fantasy in the Urdu language whose equal had not been heard before, and which has never been rivalled since. It was called Tilism-e Hoshruba. The writers claimed that the tale had been passed down to them from story-tellers going back centuries: it was a part of the beloved oral epic, The Adventures of Amir Hamza which had come to the Indian subcontinent via Persia and had gained in popularity during the reign of Akbar, the Mughal emperor. The Tilism-e-Hoshruba is the subcontinent’s first wholly indigenous Indo-Islamic fantasy epic. It tells the stories of Amir Hamza’s military forces, his grandson and his loyal band of tricksters (masters of wit and disguise) as they go to war with Afrasiyab, the sorcerer who rules the magical land of Hoshruba. Fantasy, the occult, adventure and romance play themselves out in a typically Indian setting as wizards, sorceresses, tricksters and royalty pitch themselves into the battle for Hoshruba. The characters of the epic are marvels of literary creation, and are much more colourful and dashing than those of the Amir Hamza cycle of tales. The Tilism-e Hoshruba runs to twenty four volumes and will be translated into English for the first time ever by Musharraf Ali Farooqi, the acclaimed translator of The Adventures of Amir Hamza. Random House India will publish all the volumes starting with Hoshruba: The Land and the Tilism, i.e. Book 1 of the series.

The Land and the Tilism introduced us to the magical land of Hoshruba and the war between the sorcerer Afrasiyab, and Prince Asad and his band of tricksters. In The Prisoner of Batin, Afrasiyab seals the hidden region of Batin, making the master trickster Amar Ayyar a virtual prisoner in Hoshruba. Unable to escape, Amar avenges himself on the emperor, causing death and destruction. While new calamities sent by Afrasiyab wreak havoc at the camp of his estranged wife Mahrukh Magic-Eye, the evil agent Bakhtiarak arrives in Hoshruba to kill Amar Ayyar. Loyalties are in flux once more as the powerful sorceress Makhmur Crimson-Eye falls in love with a prince from the enemy camp and betrays her master, Afrasiyab. The Prisoner of Batin is the second book of a projected series of twenty-three volumes of the Tilism-e Hoshruba. When finished, it will be the first complete translation into English of the great Urdu epic.

This text traces the development of Urdu literature from the earliest time to the 21st century. It contains biographical sketches of writers and critical appreciations of their work. An effort has been made to illustrate the relationships between the writers and their different movements.

“One day when she looked at the portrait, she considered how blessed she had been in life. She contemplated her good fortune in finding an upright man like Akbar Ahmad as her life partner and felt grateful for his bounteous legacy, which released her from all financial cares. Akbar Ahmad looked back at her, his face cast in an expression of long suffering. Mona’s eyes welled up with tears.”–from The Story of a Widow After the death of her husband Akbar Ahmad, Mona finds herself settling ambivalently into a new life. But the calm rhythm of her days–gardening, cooking, time with her neighbours and family in Karachi–is upset by the appearance of Salamat Ali, the new tenant in her friend Mrs. Baig’s house. Vivacious, friendly, and at times almost impertinent, Salamat Ali is both a breath of fresh air and a disconcerting new presence in Mona’s life, and their awkward meetings always seem to end in embarrassment or misunderstanding. When Salamat Ali, encouraged by Mrs. Baig, presents Mona with a marriage proposal, she is forced to consider what kind of future she wishes to make for herself–and what her past with Akbar Ahmad really means. The possibility of Mona marrying Salamat Ali shocks her grown daughters Tanya and Amber, and scandalizes her extended family, according to whom Mona’s happiness comes second to what people say about widows who remarry. As Mona negotiates the complex web of tradition-bound in-laws and gossiping, interfering relatives, she finds Salamat Ali waking her to the pleasures of life that thirty years with her dour first husband all but smothered. But if Salamat Ali helps her discover something essential, he also exposes her to new risks, and new dangers. The Story of a Widow is a beautifully observant novel, one that pays careful attention to the delicate movements of the heart in romantic and family life. But it is equally concerned with the mores of a society in which traditional roles both support and constrain men and–particularly–women. Gently humorous and profoundly perceptive, The Story of a Widow is the moving tale of a woman’s discovery of her voice, and herself.

A collection of essays by American, British and Australian scholars which approaches this field of textual enquiry from perspectives as diverse as Marxism and psychoanalysis. Each essay examines an aspect of contemporary practice and proposes new ways forward for students and teachers.

Long Ago Dharam SinghýS Father Had Brought Thola To This Village. He Treated Him As His Own Brother And Had Even Gifted Four Bighas Of Land To Him. After TholaýS Death, Dharam Singh Took Sole Responsibility Of His Son Jagsir And His Mother Nandi. Over The Year, However, Things Changed. The Position Of Dharam Singh Weakened In His Family. Bhanta, His Son Who Had Always Opposed Dharam SinghýS Affectionate Regard For Jagsir Took No Time To Grab Back The Land Gifted By His Grand Father To Thola And Also Raced To The Ground, The Monument Erected By Jagsir In Memory Of His Father. The Aging Nandi Dies Of Shock. The Tragedy Of Jagsir Is Not Confined To This. It Is Also A Tragedy Of Unfulfilled Love For Bhani, NikkaýS Wife. Though His Long Years Of Loneliness, It Is Opium Which Somewhat Alleviates The Storm Raging Inside Him.

Here is a special abridged English translation of a major Indo-Persian epic: a panoramic tale of magic and passion, a classic hero’s odyssey that has captivated much of the world. It is the spellbinding story of Amir Hamza, the adventurer who in the service of the Persian emperor defeats many enemies, loves many women, and converts hundreds of infidels to the True Faith before finding his way back to his first love. In Musharraf Ali Farooqi’s remarkable abridged rendition, this masterwork is captured with all its colorful action and fantastic elements intact. Appreciated as the seminal Islamic epic or enjoyed as a sweeping tale as rich and inventive as Homer’s epic sagas, The Adventures of Amir Hamza is a true literary treasure.