• ISBN13: 9780195666052
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: English Literature
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publisher Imprint: Oxford UP
• Publication Date: November 21, 2004
• Pages: 200
• Original Price: INR 395.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 500 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Historical

This is a first hand account of life in the early twentieth century, in the court of the last Nizam of Hyderabad. Taken from the diary of Sidq Jaisi, a poet-courtier, it has been sensitively translated from the original Urdu by Narendra Luther. Jaisi recounts the splendour and the decay of court life in vivid detail. Ruled by the arbitrary whims of an extravagantly hedonistic Prince, the court is a hotbed of intrigue and sycophancy. The poets Maleehabadi and Fami, the singer Begum Akhtar and other compelling characters are shown competing for recognition as the feudal system goes into its final decline.