A journey to Mecca and London : the travels of an Indian Muslim woman, 1909-1910 / Begum Sarbuland Jung ; translated and edited by Daniel Majchrowicz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jung, Begum Sarbuland, 1876-1957, author.

Contributor:

Majchrowicz, Daniel, translator, editor.

Standardized Title:

Duniya aurat ki nazar mein. Urdu

Language:

English

Urdu

Subjects (All):

Travelers' writings.

Women travelers--History.

Women travelers.

Muslim travelers--History.

Muslim travelers.

Travel--Religious aspects--Islam.

Travel.

travel literature.

Jung, Begum Sarbuland, 1876-1957--Travel--England--London.

Jung, Begum Sarbuland.

Jung, Begum Sarbuland, 1876-1957--Travel--Saudi Arabia--Mecca.

London (England)--Description and travel.

London (England).

Mecca (Saudi Arabia)--Description and travel.

Mecca (Saudi Arabia).

Physical Description:

xiv, 272 pages, 20 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Bloomington, Indiana : Indiana University Press, [2025]

Summary:

""A Journey to Mecca and London offers a rich and engaging text-personal, emotional, revelatory of one woman's relationships, judgments of people and places, as well as her religious devotionalism." - Barbara Metcalf, author of Husain Ahmad Madani: The Jihad for Islam and India's Freedom "Majchrowicz locates Begum Sarbuland's place in context of Indian Muslim women's history and contextualized her in the light of the Muslim Woman Question, women travelers of Muslim India, and travel narratives written by women, and in doing so, he has made a significant contribution to the ongoing field of research on women and religion in context of social mobility and intellectual acceptability in a religiously restricted framework." - Fayeza Hasanat, author of Nawab Faizunnesa's Rupjalal: Translation and Commentary Descended from Mughal nobility, Akhtar al-Nisa Begum Nawab Sarbuland Jang (1876-1957) grew up in Hyderabad in southern India, where she lived a quiet, private, and privileged life at the heart of the state's royal court. At age of twenty she married Nawab Muhammad Hamidullah Khan Sarbuland Jang (1864-1935), a prominent lawyer and the scion of a leading Muslim reformist movement. In 1909, the wealthy couple embarked on a four-month journey through the Middle East and Europe. They performed the hajj in Mecca and met the caliph in Istanbul. In London they sat for tea with the future king and queen of Britain. Eager for a well-rounded range of life experiences, they also used public baths, slept in tents, and rode the occasional camel. This book provides the first full English translation of Begum Sarbuland's travel diary from this journey, of which only two extant copies in their original publication remain. Originally intended for circulation among friends and family and later published in Urdu, her informal entries reveal the everyday practices of an Indian woman of her time, but also detail her impressions and reactions as she discovered the world alongside her husband. As Begum Sarbuland encountered other women and Muslims during her travels, those encounters in turn shaped her reassessment of her own identity as a Muslim woman, and her observations hold continued significance for those who confront critical questions about gender, Islam, and identity. Majchrowicz has thoroughly annotated his translation and paired it with rich appendices, including a biographical sketch of Begum Sarbuland and excerpts from Hamidullah Khan's concurrent (and better-known) travel accounts. Engagingly written and substantiated with years of original research and archival work, A Journey to Mecca and London restores the nearly forgotten narrative of one of India's first Muslim women travel writers to its rightful place in Indian and Islamic history"-- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Translation of a work published under the title Duniya Aurat ki Nazar Mein (The World in the Eyes of a Woman) of which only two extant copies in their original publication remain; originally intended for circulation among friends and family and later published in Urdu in 1939.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Sarbuland Jung, Begum, 1876-1957. Journey to Mecca and London

ISBN:

9780253071644

025307164X

9780253071699

0253071690

OCLC:

1456861413

Publisher Number:

90100949084