Ishqnama: A Novel by Rantidev Sengupta

A novel does not have an introduction, but I felt to write one for this work. I have written it on the basis of historical facts and data. The novel speaks of a time of the socio-political mosaic of Audh and Bengal from 1846 to 1886. Though the central character is Audh's last nawab, Wajid Ali Shah, many characters of that time have come to this narrative for portraying the actual atmosphere. I request my readers not to consider this work as history itself. I have fabricated the storyline where the history remains silent, although I have never wanted to derail from the actuality. That is why I looked at historical documents. The books that helped me in this journey are Rosie Llewellyn-Jones' _The Last King in India, Wajid Ali Shah_ , Sudipta Mitra's _Pearl by the River_ , Nita Das' _Kausarbagh, The Garden Palace of Lucknow_ , M. Aslam Qureshi's _Wajid Ali Shah's Theatrical Genius_ , Abdul Halim Sharar's _Lucknow: The Last Phase of an Oriental Culture_ , Binay Ghosh’s _Bidyasagar O Bangali Somaj_ , Swapan Basu's _Banglay Bidroho Unish Shotoke_ . I am indebted to these authors.