An Englishwoman who married a Muslim gentleman of Lucknow spent twelve years living inside his family’s household, and these letters record what she learned there. She describes the observances of Muharram, fasting and prayer, the rites that follow a child’s birth, marriage customs, the life of the zenana and the beliefs of her neighbours, all from the standpoint of an insider rather than a passing traveller.
A rare early nineteenth-century portrait of Indian Muslim domestic and religious life, here with William Crooke’s notes. Download the free EPUB.