Rana Safvi reviews Aslam Mahmud's 'Awadh Symphony'

Awadh Symphony: Notes on a Cultural Interlude is an extensively detailed volume which takes you on a journey to a bygone era and gives a glimpse of everyday life in this North Indian kingdom.
Revisiting Awadh, it offers almost all aspects of human activity-from culture, cuisine, craft and religious ritual to games, fairs and bazaars; from life of ordinary Muslim women to courtesans, who were a part of the famous Sham-i-Awadh; from the tradition of dastangoi to the recitation of marsiya; and much more.