Love and Life in Lucknow: An Imaginary Biography of a City

01 April, 2018

Mehru Jaffer

This collection of stories by the editor and journalist Mehru Jaffer is a tribute to the longstanding storytelling traditions of Avadh, the historical name for a region that lies in modern-day Uttar Pradesh. A species of urban folklore, it includes myths about Lucknow, a midnight visit to the home of the Baba of the Bottles and stories about a vegetable vendor who is fond of reciting poetry, a woman who is the neighbourhood bully and a rickshaw-puller who hopes to play Laila on stage.

Niyogi Books, 200 pages, Rs 395