he first chapter of the Urdu novel was composed in Delhi; the second in Lucknow. The time was the last quarter of the 19th Century. The English rulers had established the so-called peace across the country. The ‘peaceful British India’ was well poised to assimilate and react to the ideologies of reform and civilisation. European literature, particularly novels, became popular in tandem with the reform and the civilising mission.
It was then believed that only a novel could afford a full-scale cartography of the new world. Ironically, both the colonisers and the colonised aspired for this new world. The colonisers intended to establish their cultural hegemony through the ‘new world’ of the novel; the colonised hoped to use it to counter the cultural hegemony of the foreign rulers and launch national literature. Though the two chapters of the Urdu novel are both examples of national literature, there were some chiselled differences between them.
The unique traditions and cultural heritage of the two cities, which had diverged since Awadh’s separation from Delhi in the 18th Century, account for these differences.
The nawab wazir governed the province of Awadh on behalf of the Mughal emperor in Delhi. Due to Delhi’s weakening and the East India Company’s consolidation of power, Nawab Wazir Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh declared independence from Delhi in 1722. Awadh thus became an independent state, its rulers transitioning from nawabs to kings.
Over the 18th and 19th Centuries in India, the power of monarchy declined gradually. The East India Company exercised significant influence over trade, politics and military affairs. While the English continued to weaken the many rulers of India through various means the governments of both Delhi and Awadh were in the Company’s crosshairs.
In 1803, the Company took over Delhi. The same year, a peace treaty was signed between the state of Awadh and the East India Company. According to the terms of the treaty, Awadh could no longer maintain an army. The rulers of Awadh were allowed to recruit thirty thousand soldiers, but their effectiveness was illusory.
Their duties included enhancing the grandeur of royal processions, organising festivals, intimidating rebellious nobles and collecting revenue. Awadh’s land was fertile; its wealth abundant.
The only threat to Awadh’s autonomy came from the British resident, as evidenced by Awadh’s annexation in 1846. Otherwise, Awadh enjoyed a certain kind of peace. Since it did not have a warring army, it incurred no defence expenses.
Peace, prosperity and leisure contributed to the development of what has been referred to as Lucknowi tehzeeb—a blend of Hindu and Persian-Islamic cultures. Despite facing serious challenges after annexation, the religious and cultural tolerance at the grassroots level persisted.
After 1857, Delhi became the centre of Muslim nationalism. Deputy Nazir Ahmad depicted the Muslim aristocratic families of Delhi in his novels. His novels—Mirat-ul-Uroos, Banat-un-Na’sh, Taubat-un-Nasuh, Ibn-ul-Waqt, Roya-i-Sadiqa and Ayama—feature no Hindu characters. On the other hand, Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar (1846-1903), who started the novel writing tradition in Lucknow, did not intend to create religious reformist literature.
Although he was a Kashmiri pundit, in his childhood he had learnt the distinctive begamati dialect of Lucknow from Muslim women. The unique blend of Indo-Islamic culture that emerged in India, particularly in Lucknow, is vividly portrayed in his works following the 1857 uprising.
Sarshar, in his novels written for newspapers, did not express his religious identity, despite the era being defined by the emergence of and fervour for the assertion of religious identities. At a time when Urdu literature was focused on shaping and transmitting national and religious consciousness, Sarshar diverged from this trend.
Why then did Abdul Halim Sharar, also associated with Lucknow, choose Islamic history and Muslim nationalism as themes in his novels? Sharar’s literary style was influenced by Delhi. At the age of nineteen, he had fled home to join the study circle of Mian Nazir Hussain, a religious scholar in Delhi. His stint in had Delhi transformed him into a devout ascetic. Apart from Sarshar, Manshi Sajjad Hussain and Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa also represent Lucknow’s unique tradition of novel writing.
The novel Taubat-un-Nasuh from Delhi was inspired by English writer Daniel Defoe’s The Family Instructor. The Lucknowi writers drew inspiration from the Spanish novelist Cervantes. Daniel Defoe, in his The Family Instructor, was seen as a mediocre reformist writer; Cervantes, on the other hand, was celebrated as a great writer.
This shows how Delhi and Lucknow looked to different models of Western fiction. This significantly shaped their literary imagination as they navigated the burgeoning world of Urdu novels. Intriguingly, from its inception, Lucknow strived to carve out a literary tradition distinctly separate from that of Delhi.
Despite being cognizant of the reformist movement of their age, Lucknow’s writers chose not to imbue their writings with didactic or moralistic undertones or a nationalist tone. However, they did engage with topics such as politics, new English education, British colonisation, tradition and women’s education. They had a clear vision of Indo-Islamic culture, valuing and understanding its significance, yet they steered clear of revivalism.
Lucknow was the epicentre of satire. The humorous journal, Punch, was based here. This city gave birth to some of the most memorable characters in Urdu literature. Writers from the Awadh region, such as Akbar, began humorously critiquing the reformist movements rooted in Delhi and Aligarh, which aligned with British colonial interests.
The political dimension of Awadh’s satire was particularly striking. Its roots can be traced back to zila jugat (speech with double meanings), the rivalries among various poets and their sharp wit and humour in daily conversation. However, after 1857, the focus of this satire shifted towards European colonialism. Urdu literature in Lucknow was among the first to express anti-colonial sentiments.
Despite not obtaining a college degree due to his carefree and unconventional nature, Sarshar had developed a profound interest in the English language and literature. He had immersed himself in English books and their translations. Eventually, he discovered Cervantes’ Don Quixote.
Of his experience, he once said, “The novel absorbed me so much that I lost interest in studying textbooks for many days. When I picked up Cervantes’s fascinating book, I couldn’t put it down.” Although he likely went on to read other works of Western literature, the experience of reading this novel became a permanent influence and for many years it remained one of his favourite books.
Interestingly, several other writers from Lucknow also became captivated by this novel. Tarbhun Nath Hijr told Sarshar that Don Quixote was a book that could make anyone laugh uncontrollably, regardless of where they opened it. Similarly, Munshi Sajjad Hussain’s character Haji Baghlol was influenced by Cervantes’ Don Quixote and Charles Dickens’s Pickwick Papers.
Why did Don Quixote, a 17th-Century Spanish novel, gain such popularity in the 19th-Century Lucknow? Was its allure linked to its European origins—an object of desire at the time—or was there deeper cultural resonance between the 19th-Century Lucknow and the 17th-Century Spain?
The fact is that despite the vast differences in their cultures the late 19th-Century Lucknow and the world depicted in Don Quixote shared several traits, such as wit, humour, satire, ostentation and elegance.
At first glance, the protagonist of Don Quixote and a banka from Lucknow may appear similar. However, their intentions and actions differ significantly. This is the source of much of the humour. Don Quixote aims to change the world, become a hero and achieve eternal fame. Yet, his actions often have the opposite effect.
He views himself as a valiant hero, his horse as the finest warhorse and Sancho Panza as an unparalleled courtier. In reality, he often faces humiliation and becomes a source of laughter. The ideals he read about in books and came to believe in are shockingly shattered by the harsh realities of the world. Throughout the novel, the grand narratives found in books are sardonically dismissed by the unforgiving truths of life.
The second reason for the popularity of Don Quixote was its political significance. Sarshar approached the novel from a political perspective, a stance he maintained even in his translation.
The term ‘Don Quixote’ typically refers to an idealistic yet inactive person. Sarshar, however, chose the name “Khudai Faujd r” for his translation, which means someone who meddles in others’ affairs. This marked a shift from an idealistic but passive figure to one who was actively intervening.
Sarshar didn’t just adapt the title; he also transformed the characters, places and events of the Spanish novel to fit an Indian, specifically Lucknowi, context. For him, translation was not about transferring the original text word for word. It was about creating a text that was comprehensible, engaging, culturally resonant and useful for his audience, effectively bringing the story to life in his own language.
Sarshar viewed translation as an art form that involved improvisation and the use of metaphors rather than a literal, mechanical process. He believed in achieving expression through translation when direct expression was not possible.
The popularity of Don Quixote in Lucknow was a result of a mix of literary, social and political factors, skillfully deployed by Sarshar to resonate with the local readership.
Fasana-i-Azad, Sarshar’s magnum opus and one of the greatest works of fiction in Urdu, drew inspiration from Don Quixote but steered clear of overt political expression. However, in Khudai Faujd r, Sarshar did express anti-colonial sentiments, albeit indirectly. For example, he writes that the Khudai Faujd r became obsessed with the idea of liberating the world from oppression, believing that “no powerful person should oppress a subordinate, no oppressor should harm any oppressed person and the government should not cause harm to its subjects.”
He elaborates, “From morning till evening, even a dog eats until its belly is full. Who doesn’t make a name for themselves in this world? The best way to achieve fame is to save those beneath you with the strength of the mighty; protect the oppressed from the oppressors; open your heart to the wronged and fight against tyranny and oppression, as if removing the thorn from a donkey’s head.”
This loose translation of a passage from Khudai Faujd r underscores the importance of compassion, standing up for justice and making a positive impact in the world. Notably, this interpretation is entirely Sarshar’s creation; it does not appear in Don Quixote. While Don Quixote seeks fame, he does not aim to liberate the masses from state/ government oppression.
For Sarshar, Khudai Faujd r is not merely a fictional character. He adapted Don Quixote into a Lucknow context, blending its characteristics with those of the local bankas. As Nayyar Masood aptly noted, “The bankas of Lucknow were matchless in their uprightness and actions.
“They fought for the oppressed against the oppressors without considering the oppressors’ numbers. They fearlessly confronted bullies without hesitation and didn’t hesitate to give their lives for the cause. They remained steadfast in their principles and selflessness until their last breath.”
Sarshar aimed to incorporate these chivalric qualities into Khudai Faujd r and Fasana-i-Azad but in a distinctively Lucknowi, humorous manner.
The writer is a Lahore-based Urdu critic and short story writer. He is also the Head of Publication at the Gurmani Centre, at Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is the author of Naiy Nnqqad kay Naam Khatoot and Urdu Adab ki Tashkeel-i-Jadeed
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