''Umrao Jaan Ada'' ( ur, ) is an

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Mirza Hadi Ruswa (1857–1931), first published in 1899. It is considered the first Urdu novel by manyUmrao Jaan Ada by Mirza Hadi Ruswa
Umrao Jaan at sasw.chass.ncsu.edu and tells the story of a

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or othe ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

by the same name from 19th century

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

, as recounted by her to the author.

History and theme

According to the novel, the story of Umrao Jaan was recounted by her to the author, when he happened to meet her during a ''

mushaira ''Mushaira'' ( ur, , Mušā'ira) is a poetic symposium. It is an event (called '' mehfil'', Mushairi) where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is part of the Culture of North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, particularly among the ...

'' (poetry gathering) in Lucknow. On listening to her couplets, the author along with Munshi Ahmad, a novel and poetry enthusiast present at the gathering, convinces Umrao Jaan to share her life story with them. The novel is written in first person as a memoir. The book was first published by Gulab Munshi and Sons Press, Lucknow in 1899.Complete Urdu Text
1899 version The novel is known for its elaborate portrayal of mid-19th century Lucknow, its decadent society, and also describes the moral hypocrisy of the era, where Umrao Jaan also becomes the symbol of a nation that had long attracted many suitors who were only looking to exploit her. The existence of Umrao Jaan Ada is disputed among scholars as there are few mentions of her outside of Ruswa's book. She does appear in his earlier unfinished novel ''Afshai Raz'', but is very different from the cultured character in ''Umrao Jaan Ada''. The existence of an Uttar Pradesh

dacoit Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...

named Fazal Ali is recorded, and there are British documents that mention the claims of a courtesan named Azizan Bai who stated that she was taught by Umrao Jaan.

Plot summary

Umrao Jaan is born as Amiran ( ur, ) to a modest family in

Faizabad Faizabad (Hindustani pronunciation: ɛːzaːbaːd is a city situated near the southern banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The area of this Faizabad region is administered by Ayodhya Municipal Corpo ...

. After the criminal Dilawar Khan is released from jail, he decides to get revenge as her father testified against him in court. Khan kidnaps Amiran and decides to sell her in Lucknow. She is imprisoned with another girl, Ram Dai, but the two are separated when Dilawar Khan takes her to Lucknow. There she is sold for 150

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...

s to Khanum Jaan, the head ''

tawaif A ''tawaif'' was a highly successful entertainer who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal era. The tawaifs excelled in and contributed to music, dance ( mujra), theatre, and the Urdu literary tradi ...

'' of a '' kotha''. She is renamed Umrao and begins to study

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

. Together with the other apprentice ''tawaif'' and Gauhar Mirza, the mischievous illegitimate son of a local Nawab, she is taught to read and write in both Urdu and Persian. As Umrao grows up, she is surrounded by a culture of luxury, music and poetry. She eventually gains her first client, (earning her the suffix of ''jaan'') but prefers the impoverished Gauhar Mirza, her friend. Umrao Jaan attracts the handsome and wealthy Nawab Sultan. The couple fall in love, but, after an altercation with an impolite patron where the Nawab Sultan shoots and wound hims in the arm, he no longer comes to the ''kotha'' and Umrao Jaan must meet him secretly with the help of Gauhar Mirza. As Umrao Jaan continues to see Nawab Sultan and also serve other clients, she supports Gauhar Mirza with her earnings. A new client, the mysterious Faiz Ali, showers Umrao Jaan with jewels and gold, but warns her not to tell anyone about his gifts. When he invites her to travel to

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. The city is on the banks of river Ganges and is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. ...

, Khanum Jaan refuses so Umrao Jaan must run away. On the way to Farrukhabad, they are attacked by soldiers and Umrao Jaan discovers that Faiz is a

and all of his gifts have been stolen goods. Faiz Ali escapes with his brother Fazl Ali and she is imprisoned, but luckily one of the ''tawaif'' from Khanum Jaan's ''kotha'' is in the service of the Raja whose soldiers arrested her so Umrao Jaan is freed. As soon as she leaves the Raja's court, Faiz Ali finds her and gets her to come with him. He is soon captured and Umrao Jaan, reluctant to return to Khanum Jaan, sets up as a ''tawaif'' in

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help· info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations ...

. While she is performing in the house of a kindly

Begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is a royal and aristocratic title from Central and South Asia. It is the feminine equivalent of the title ''baig'' or '' bey'', which in Turkic languages means "higher official". It us ...

, armed bandits led by Fazl Ali try to rob the house, but leave when they see that Umrao Jaan is there. Then Gauhar Mirza comes to Kanpur and she decides to return to the ''kotha''. Umrao Jaan performs at the court of Wajid Ali Shah until the

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British The Residency, Lucknow, Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel Sepoy, sepoys (Indian soldiers in the East India Company, British East India Company's Army) during the Indian ...

forces her to flee the city for Faizabad. There she finds her mother, but is threatened by her brother who considers her a disgrace and believes she would be better off dead. Devastated, Umrao Jaan returns to Lucknow now that the

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among memb ...

is over. She meets the Begum from Kanpur again in Lucknow and discovers that she is actually Ram Dai. By a strange twist of fate Ram Dai was sold to the mother of Nawab Sultan and the two are now married. Another ghost of Umrao Jaan's past is put to rest when Dilawar Khan is arrested and hanged for robbery. With her earnings and the gold that Faiz Ali gave her, she is able to live comfortably and eventually retires from her life as a ''tawaif''.

Adaptations

Over the years the novel has inspired many films both in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It was made into a Pakistani film in 1972, ''

Umrao Jaan Ada ''Umrao Jaan Ada'' ( ur, ) is an Urdu novel by Mirza Hadi Ruswa (1857–1931), first published in 1899. It is considered the first Urdu novel by many

'', directed by Hasan Tariq, and the Indian films: ''Mehndi'' (1958) by SM Yusuf, ''Zindagi Ya Toofan'' (1958) by Nakhshab Jarchavi, ''Umrao Jaan'' (1981) by Muzaffar Ali and ''Umrao Jaan'' (2006) by

JP Dutta Jyoti Prakash Dutta (born 3 October 1949) is an Indian Bollywood film producer, writer and director, best known for making patriotic action war films. Personal life Dutta is married to the Bollywood film actress Bindiya Goswami with whom he has ...

. The novel was also the theme of a Pakistani television serial, '' Umrao Jan Ada'', aired in 2003 on

Geo TV Geo Television Network is a television channel based in Pakistan. It was established in May 2002 and is owned by the Jang Media Group. The channel began its test transmission on 14 August 2002, with regular transmission beginning on 1 October ...

. It was directed by Raana Sheikh and the storyline was written by poet

Zehra Nigah Zehra Nigah ( ur, ) is an Urdu poet and scriptwriter from Pakistan. She was one of two female poets to gain prominence in the 1950s when the scene was dominated by men. She has written several television drama serials. She has also received vario ...

. ''Umrao Jaan Ada'', an Indian television series adaptation of the novel aired on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest b ...

's DD Urdu channel in 2014. It ran for 13 episodes and was directed by Javed Sayyed with music from Sappan Jagmohan. Salim–Sulaiman remade the 1981 Indian film into a musical play, ''Umrao Jaan Ada - The Musical'', in 2019, the theatrical adaptation was directed by Rajeev Goswami with

Pratibha Baghel Pratibha Singh Baghel (born 4 January), also referred to as Pratibha Singh and Pratibha Baghel, is an Indian singer who sings Hindustani classical music, ghazals as well as Bollywood film songs.Anish MohantyBole Naina Music Review Planet Bollywo ...

in the titular role of the courtesan.

References

External links

Complete Urdu Text of Mirza Hadi Ruswa's Umrao Jaan Ada

{{Urdu topics 1899 novels Urdu-language novels Indian novels adapted into films Indian courtesans Novels set in Lucknow Novels about Indian prostitution Indian novels adapted into television shows Indian novels adapted into plays

History and theme

Plot summary

Adaptations

Further reading

References

External links