The Courtesan, Her Lover and I

Tarana Husain Khan

TWO WOMEN WRITERS. TWO CENTURIES. A CREATIVE KINSHIP.

In the royal courts of nineteenth-century Rampur, courtesan–poet Munni Bai Hijab captivates the legendary Urdu poet Dagh Dehlvi, who immortalizes her in his verses while inadvertently eclipsing her voice.

More than a century later, Rukmini, an aspiring writer, stumbles upon Dagh's letters in the archives of the Rampur Raza Library and finds herself drawn to the fierce, flickering presence of Munni Bai Hijab. Torn between worlds–a Hindu woman in a Muslim household, a cosmopolitan spirit in a conservative town–Rukmini begins to trace the forgotten threads of Hijab's story, even as her own life starts to unravel. Her husband chases yet another doomed business idea. Her daughter walks away from medical school. And when her friendship with Daniyal, the stoic guardian of Rampur's past, deepens into desire, Rukmini must confront her greatest fear: becoming her mother, the woman who once walked away from their family.

The Courtesan, Her Lover and I is a haunting novel of longing, ambition and women who dare to write themselves into history.