Literary fiction, Non fiction.
Dr. Tarana Husain Khan is a writer and food historian based in Rampur. Her articles on Rampur cuisine, culture and oral history have appeared in Eaten Magazine, Scroll, The Wire and DailyO. She wrote a monthly column on Rampur cuisine, ‘Food Fables’ in DailyO. Her historical fiction, ‘The Begum and the Dastan’ was published in March 2021 by Tranquebar, an imprint of Westland. She has contributed a short story to the anthologies Desi Delicacies (Pan Macmillan, India) and Dastarkhwan: Food Writing from South Asia and Diaspora (Beacon Books, UK). She hosts and curates a website on Rampur culture and oral history (taranakhanauthor.com). She also curates the Forgotten Foods series of articles on Scroll. Her book on Rampur cuisine, ‘Rampuri Cuisine: Food Fables, Memories and Recipes’, shall be published by Penguin India in 2022.
She is currently working on a Global Challenges Research Fund and Arts and Humanities Research Council funded research project, ‘Forgotten Food: Culinary Memory, Local Heritage and Lost Agricultural Varieties in India’.
Her first novel, ‘I’m Not a Bimbette’ (2015) and its sequel ‘Cyber Bullied’ (2020) were published by Juggernaut Books. She founded the ‘Rampur Book Club’ in 2016 to promote reading of world literature in Rampur.
Follow her on Twitter @drtarana; Instagram and Facebook Tarana Husain Khan
Two fellow book club members Dr Tarana Hussain Khan and Mr Amitabh Baghel got together to talk about her latest book, ‘The Begum and The Dastan’. Dr Tarana is a cultural-historian from Rampur and has done extensive work in this arena. They start the talk with Mr Amitabh commending her for her outstanding work in this particular work which he himself has read and enjoyed. It is a book about the story of a woman called Feroza Begum who represents all women of the 19th century. It is a tragic, gripping, moving tale of a young woman who gets kidnapped by the Nawab while attending Sawani celebrations for which she has gone against her life. This event proves to be a turning point in her life. Mr Amitabh discusses various aspects about the book and her writings. The session turns out to be a very poetic and pleasant experience for all.