Description
This is a book recording the peculiar feminine proverbs and idioms of the ladies of Delhi, the cultural capital of Urdu. Had they not been documented, these would have passed into oblivion. Begum Ikramullah lived in Delhi at a time when the zenana idiom was still prevalent. The Preface displays great linguistic insight and the Glossary, painstakingly prepared, is most authentic.


About the Author / Editor
Born before the last vestige of Mughal civilization had quite disappeared from the subcontinent, Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah spent her childhood in the the heyday of British Imperialism and the early years of her youth coincided with the period when the struggle for independence was gathering momentum She was one of the few Muslim women to take part in the Pakistan movement and witness the liquidation of an Empire and the heralding in of a new State�Pakistan. She wrote this book in Urdu parallel to her English book From Pardah to Parliament, covering her life as a member of the Pakistan Assembly, a delegate to the UN (1948-1951) and Ambassador to Morocco (1964-67).