The Madness of Waiting

The singular tale of Indian literature’s most famous characters wrests control of her own voice, and brings a dazzling new perspective to a beloved story. Published in 1899, Muhammad Hadi Ruswa’s infamous novel, Umrao Jaan Ada created a sensation when it came out, with its candid account of the life of Umrao Jaan, a semi-fictional courtesan. Subsequent translations and films based on the book have further extended its fame. What is less known, however, is that a month after he wrote Umrao Jaan Ada, Ruswa penned a short text, a novella entitled The Madness of Waiting, in which the young courtesan avenges herself on her creator, Ruswa, by narrating the story of his life. Blurring the lines between truth and fiction, narrator and character, this clever response makes and astonishing character into an exceptional storyteller. Although there has been much interest in the original novel, this paratext has been completely forgotten; something this volume attempts to redress through a critical introduction which rethinks Umrao Jaan Ada and the Urdu literary milieu of late-nineteenth century Lucknow. This book contains both the Urdu text and its translation for the bilingual reader.