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In the princely state of Sherpur, 1897, Feroza Begum, beautiful and wilful, defies her family to attend sawan celebrations at Nawab Shams Ali Khan's Benazir palace.
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Tarana was an indifferent eater and an unenthusiastic cook until a chance encounter with a nineteenth-century Persian cookbook in Rampur's fabled Raza Library
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A delectable anthology of food writing exploring the histories and cultures of Muslim South Asia. Contributors include Nadeem Aslam, Rana Safvi, Tabish Khair, and others.
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A delectable anthology of food writing exploring the histories and cultures of Muslim South Asia. Contributors include Nadeem Aslam, Rana Safvi, Tabish Khair, and others.
Inspired by real-life characters and events,
THE BEGUM AND THE DASTAN
is a haunting tale of a grand city and its women.
In the princely state of Sherpur, 1897, Feroza Begum, beautiful and wilful, defies her family to attend sawan celebrations at Nawab Shams Ali Khan’s Benazir palace. Feroza is kidnapped and detained in the Nawab’s glittering harem, her husband is forced to divorce her, and her family disowns her. Reluctantly, Feroza marries the Nawab, and iscompelled to negotiate the the glamour and sordidness of the harem.
In the bazaar chowk, Kallan Mirza, a skilled dastango, spins a hauntingly familiar tale of a despotic sorcerer, Tareek Jaan,and his grand illusory city, the Tilism-e -Azam.
And in the present day, Ameera listens to Dadi narrating the tale of Feroza Begum, Ameera’s grea
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About the Author
Dr Tarana Husain Khan is a writer and cultural historian with a passion for exploring the intersection of gender, history, culture, and oral history. Her writings based on extensive research on the oral history and culture of the erstwhile princely state of Rampur have been published in prominent media outlets such as Al Jazeera, Eaten Magazine, Scroll, Bruit, Open Magazine, The Wire, and in the anthologies Desi Delicacies (Pan Macmillan, India) and Dastarkhwan: Food Writing from South Asia and Diaspora ( Beacon Books, UK).
Dr Khan is the author of critically acclaimed, bestselling historical fiction, ‘The Begum and the Dastan’ which won the prestigious Kalinga Literary Award for fiction, was shortlisted for Women Writer’s Award by She The People, and longlisted for Auther Award. Her book on Rampur cuisine, Degh to Dastarkhwan: Qissas and Recipes from Rampur has been published by Penguin Random house India. She has co-edited and contributed to an upcoming anthology of food writings, Forgotten Foods: Memories and Recipes from Muslim South Asia, which is under publication with Pan Macmillan.
Her research article Narrating Rampur Cuisine: Cookbooks, Forgotten Foods and Culinary Memories was recently published in Global Food History Journal. She has also curated and contributed to a highly popular series ‘Forgotten Foods’ in Scroll.in. and wrote a monthly column on Rampur cuisine, ‘Food Fables’, in DailyO.
She is currently working on a Research Fellowship at the University of Sheffield for an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project, ‘Forgotten Food: Culinary Memory, Local Heritage and Lost Agricultural Varieties in India’. Her ongoing research promises to shed light on gender, food and memory.
Dr Tarana Husain Khan is a writer and cultural historian with a passion for exploring the intersection of gender, history, culture, and oral history. Her writings based on extensive research on the oral history and culture of the erstwhile princely state of Rampur have been published in prominent media outlets such as Al Jazeera, Eaten Magazine, Scroll, Bruit, Open Magazine, The Wire, and in the anthologies Desi Delicacies (Pan Macmillan, India) and Dastarkhwan: Food Writing from South Asia and Diaspora ( Beacon Books, UK).
Dr Khan is the author of critically acclaimed, bestselling historical fiction, ‘The Begum and the Dastan’ which won the prestigious Kalinga Literary Award for fiction, was shortlisted for Women Writer’s Award by She The People, and longlisted for Auther Award. Her book on Rampur cuisine, Degh to Dastarkhwan: Qissas and Recipes from Rampur has been published by Penguin Random house India. She has co-edited and contributed to an upcoming anthology of food writings, Forgotten Foods: Memories and Recipes from Muslim South Asia, which is under publication with Pan Macmillan.
Her research article Narrating Rampur Cuisine: Cookbooks, Forgotten Foods and Culinary Memories was recently published in Global Food History Journal. She has also curated and contributed to a highly popular series ‘Forgotten Foods’ in Scroll.in. and wrote a monthly column on Rampur cuisine, ‘Food Fables’, in DailyO.
She is currently working on a Research Fellowship at the University of Sheffield for an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project, ‘Forgotten Food: Culinary Memory, Local Heritage and Lost Agricultural Varieties in India’. Her ongoing research promises to shed light on gender, food and memory.