Requiem in Raga Janki

Imagined from the life of the singer and poet Janki Bai of Allahabad, the novel begins with a childhood attack that leaves her disfigured. Her mother takes her from Benares to Allahabad, where she studies under the exacting teacher Hassu Khan and makes her name in the city's kothas. Her voice brings wealth and invitations: she meets Gauhar Jaan in Calcutta and sings at the Delhi Durbar of 1911, while the gramophone changes how music is heard. Against her mother's wishes she converts to Islam and marries a lawyer, Abdul Haq, and the marriage turns sour. The story moves between Benares, Allahabad, Calcutta, Rewa and Delhi, and through the history of Hindustani music from Tansen to the recording age, while the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 shakes her deeply.

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About the book

Form

Novel

Genres

Historical (assigned by AI)

Set in

India, early 20th century

First published

2018 by Viking

Author's age

63 when first published

ISBN

9780670091140 (Viking, India)

9780143467342 (Penguin Random House India, India)