RARE LETTERS OF MUSHTARI BAI

Abstract

There are two varying attitudes of epistolary prose penned in Lucknow.  The lyrical and hedonistic styles coexist lucidly. In the earlier prose, a familiar tone is often accompanied by complex literary and figurative devices, but after the fall of Oudh, Lucknow's epistolary prose exhibits a rather plain and traditional outlook. Lucknow's Mushtri Bai, a renowned poetess, dancer and courtesan, wrote epistolary prose in the same vein. She dedicated her letters to Abdul Ghafoor Nissakh, a renowned writer himself. They were published serially from September 1923 to September 1925 in “Mahnamah Jadu Dhaka”, a literary journal. These rare letters are a fine specimen of feminine sensibility as well as Lucknow's prose tradition. These letters are important because Delhi's particular Begumati Zuban almost present in mainstream creative literature but through these letters, Lucknow's typical feminine vernacular is foregrounded.