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New book 'Jaane Jaan Lucknow' captures fleeting charm of City of Nawabs
New book 'Jaane Jaan Lucknow' captures fleeting charm of City of Nawabs
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Lucknow, A new Hindi book, "Jaane Jaan Lucknow", seeks to capture the city's many hues through short stories that explore its culture, food, poetry, relationships and changing social landscape, while revisiting memories of a bygone era.
Published by Sarthak, an imprint of the Rajkamal Prakashan Group, the 200-page book was released here recently in the presence of actor Shabana Azmi, who was the chief guest at the event.
Praising the book by Indian Revenue Service officer Suboor Usmani for its variety of stories and conversational language, Azmi said it brought alive vivid images of Lucknow and rekindled her affection for a city closely associated with some of her fondest memories.
"The most striking thing I felt while reading these stories was their variety. Each chapter looks at a completely different aspect of the city," she said, adding that the author's choice of everyday language made the images in the stories come alive.
Recalling her association with Lucknow, Azmi spoke about her late father, noted Urdu poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi, who had spent four months at a medical college in the city after fracturing his leg.
She said Kaifi Azmi continued writing poetry during his hospital stay and never complained about his condition.
"I wondered what kind of a person he was, who did not utter even a word of complaint," she said, adding that the experience had left a lasting impression on her.
Azmi said the city's distinctive cultural sensibility and refined manner of speaking, which she had grown up hearing about, appeared to be disappearing in places.
Reading stories rooted in Lucknow, she said, helped her reconnect with the city's character and revive memories associated with it.
Emphasising the importance of reading and storytelling, the actor also urged parents to encourage children to read books rather than rely on digital devices to keep them occupied.
"We give our children devices and tell them to spend the whole day on the internet and YouTube because we do not want to make the effort to tell them stories or read books to them. If we do not read books, why would our children read them," she asked.
Blaming children for their lack of interest in reading while choosing the easier option of handing them devices was unfair, she added.
Azmi also referred to a point often made by her husband, lyricist Javed Akhtar, that giving children too many toys leaves little room for their imagination to develop.
Recalling his observations about people during childhood, she said Akhtar had often spoken about watching people on the streets, noticing their mannerisms and distinctive traits, which later helped him create characters.
Children should be given enough time and space for their imagination to grow instead of being constantly exposed to stimuli, she said.
Usmani said his book was an attempt to explore the many dimensions of Lucknow through short stories, with each narrative drawing some connection with the city.
"For me, this city is like my beloved. Even when I am away from Lucknow, it remains with me," he said.
Usmani said his friends from the city played a major role in bringing the book together by encouraging him to complete stories that had remained unfinished.
Some of the stories had been written earlier but needed further work before they were brought in the collection into its present form, he said.
Explaining the thought behind the title, Usmani said the book was an attempt to capture the different colours of a city that could never be confined to a single description.
"'Jaane Jaan Lucknow' is my attempt to see a great city through short stories," he said.
Drawing on a couplet by poet Shaz Tamkanat, Usmani said Lucknow reminded him of a city whose many colours became even more vivid when viewed from different perspectives.
"Seen through poetry, Lucknow is a city of charm; through ghazals, it is a city of elegance; through food, a city of flavours; and through its stories, a city of legends," he said.
At different moments, the city assumes the colours of love, mourning, mischief and rebellion, only to reveal another facet at the next turn, he added.
Usmani said every resident had a distinct version of Lucknow, shaped by personal memories and associations - whether with Chowk, Hazratganj, a neighbourhood temple, a coffee house, a famous kebab establishment, a shrine, a cinema hall or a childhood lane.
"No single person can capture the entirety of this city. Everyone has their own Lucknow. I have only tried to look at some of its colours a little more deeply," he said.
The book is available online and at stores.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
