Book review: Fida-é-Lucknow

Fida-é-Lucknow takes you to the very heart of Lucknow and to a time of its true splendour, and shows the tradition and culture of Awadh through its tales.

It is not very often that you get to see books written about the commonfolk, the unfamed souls, who make a city. Much less, if in question, is a city of nawabs and royals. Fida-é-Lucknow is one of those books. It takes you to the very heart of Lucknow and to a time of its true splendour, and shows the tradition and culture of Awadh through its tales. Though more than tales, the first effect that you have when you start reading this book is how effortlessly Parveen takes you into her stories.

HT Image

Her writing style grips you and her use of words is bound to make you feel many different emotions. She tells stories of relationships, love, faith, bravery and sacrifice, which transcend boundaries of nations and religions. Though the book does get a bit slow in between, this collection does achieve to a large extent its purpose, that is, to change the perception that a Lucknow-wala is a sherwani clad, paan chewing rich nawab.

Title: Fida-é-Lucknow
Author: Parveen Talha
Price: R250
Publisher: Niyogi Books