The Bride's Mirror

‘One of the greatest prose writers in Urdu.’ India today the bride’s mirror (mirat ul-‘arus) was the first bestseller in Urdu. First published in 1869 within twenty years it had gone into several editions and sold over 100 000 copies. An English translation was published in England in 1903 by G. E. Ward and the book has been almost continuously in print ever since. The novel tells the story of two sisters asghari and akbari who are married to two brothers in Delhi. Akbari the spoilt mean-tempered and impetuous sister fritters away all the advantages she is offered and makes a mess of her life. Asghari who has to contend with all sorts of disappointments and setbacks prevails in the end and makes a success of everything she turns her hand to. All through its existence the bride’s mirror had been hailed as one of the most important works of Urdu literature ever published. The portrait it provides of the lives of those who lived in Delhi over a hundred years ago is an indelible one.