In 1999, Amaresh Misra published Lucknow: Fire of Grace — The Story of its Renaissance, Revolution and Aftermath. It is an authentic account on the rise and fall of a unique cultural and political hub in the region of Awadh, situated within the greater Indo-Persianate civilisation, from the 18th to the middle of the 19th century.

Misra also details the annexation of the kingdom in 1856 and the valiant fight put up by the city, continuing into the larger 1857 War of Independence. He adds another century and a half to bring the tale of the city towards the end of the 20th century. That Awadhi civilisation, with Lucknow as its epicentre, was an amalgam of Vedic, Persian and Central Asian civilisations.

After the fall of the Mughal empire, Misra recognised Awadh as a modern and secular kingdom that emerged and prospered under a Muslim rule that combined political power, artistic freedoms, cultural innovation, classical music, architecture, science and subterfuge.

I see Mehru Jaffer’s work, From the Love Lanes of Lucknow: An Ode to Urdu Poetry, picking up from Misra’s larger argument. It smoothly chronicles a period of masterful Urdu verse in Lucknow — spanning over 90 golden years from the middle of the 18th century to the fall of Lucknow in 1856 and then until a few decades later. I thank poet Iftikhar Arif, to whom this work is dedicated, for introducing me to Jaffer’s important historical account.

I respect the deep sense of belonging among some writers who are invested in one city, one region, one culture or one language. They can produce phenomenal work that gets nourishment from their passions. However, when some of these writers enter into social and political domains — not always but at times — consciously or unconsciously their passion encourages them to make lopsided comparisons with other cities, peoples and cultures. Their somewhat selective reading of historical texts looks like cherry-picking when glorifying a place or people they are passionate about.

Thankfully, Jaffer does not belong to that category of writers. Her upbringing, life and personal and professional experiences give her a broad outlook, within which she cherishes her passion for her city, its past and present, its culture and linguistic heritage (where the transforming lingua franca was actively drawing upon other local languages and dialects). Being proudly rooted in one place but remaining pluralistic, with a larger canvas of history serving you as a backdrop, is a rare quality.

Mehru Jaffer uses the Urdu poets and poetry of the classical period in Lucknow as a paintbrush to refresh the colours of a way of life that was diverse and rich, from its music to its cuisine — the complexity of a melange of a culture leading to an intricate synthesis, and an eclectic civilisational history.

From the Love Lanes of Lucknow, published in 2024 by Amaryllis in India, is a one-of-a-kind of book in English. Jaffer uses the Urdu poets and poetry of the classical period in Lucknow as a paintbrush to refresh the colours of a way of life that was diverse and rich, from its music to its cuisine — the complexity of a melange of a culture leading to an intricate synthesis, and an eclectic civilisational history.

Some of the most significant poets mentioned in the book had, in fact, moved to Lucknow from other cities of the Subcontinent — such as Mir Taqi Mir from Delhi and Imam Bakhsh Nasikh from Lahore — to a place that provided them with both material security and a thriving intellectual milieu. From nawabs Asaf-ud-Daula to Wajid Ali Shah, successive rulers of Awadh patronised many poets in one way or the other. Some remained dismissive of any patronage but stayed back.

The book recounts stories of poets — from Mirza Rafi Sauda to Mir to Mir Soz to Nasikh to Saadar Yaar Khan Rangin to Shaikh Qalandar Bakhsh Jurrat to Insha Allah Khan Insha to Khawaja Haider Ali Atish and Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi, besides others — and their mutual interactions in lucid and highly readable prose. Amusing anecdotes, witty quotations and memorable events capture the benign but pointed rivalries and the overall poetic atmosphere spread over a century.

Jaffer’s narration is interspersed with Urdu verses, followed by an appendix giving a selection of poetry by 11 poets, including marsiya stanzas from Mir Anis and Mirza Dabir and a ghazal from Anis. With an exquisite commentary on both Anis and Dabir, Jaffer establishes how it was not just the faith of the rulers but the poetry of Anis and his forebears that turned Lucknow into the Shia cultural capital of India then.

Besides, the Lucknow school produced many significant poets of Kashmiri Pandit origin and other Hindu denominations. Chhannu Lal Dilgeer of course preceded Anis, but poets such as Pandit Brij Narayan Chakbast, Pandit Anand Narain Mulla and Munshi Dwarka Prasad Ufuq Lukhnavi etc also contributed extensively to the corpus of Urdu verse.

Mehru Jaffer passed away a couple of weeks ago in India at the age of 75. Before From the Love Lanes of Lucknow, she had written books about the Prophet of Islam (PBUH), Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Aulia and life in Lucknow. Her completed work on Amir Khusro still lies with some publisher in Delhi.

She was an academic and a journalist who taught in Europe for 30 years and finally moved to Goa. Born and brought up in Lucknow, she moved around but kept in touch with her antecedents. Mehru’s Lucknow may no longer be there but its art, music, dance, theatre, literature and cuisine will continue to enrich composite South Asian culture.

The columnist is a poet and essayist. His latest collections of verse are Hairaa’n Sar-i-Bazaar and No Fortunes to Tell

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, September 6th, 2026