9.19 Who Gets Written into History? The Lost Voices Of 19th Century Tawaifs ft. Tarana Hussain Khan

A love story, across timelines as one woman tries to reach the other through the words she left behind.In this episode, Tara sits down with Tarana Hussain Khan, writer and food historian, to talk about her novel The Courtesan, Her Lover and I, a book that moves between two women and their love stories separated by a century, bound together by letters that almost didn't survive.The conversation explores how Tarana first discovered Daag’s letters to Hijab in archival material and why Hijab became such an enigma to her. Through Hijab's story, they get into the larger world of Tawaifs and the extraordinary dichotomy of women who were the most culturally significant of their time, yet whose writings were lost, romanticised, or dismissed. Through the parallel journeys of Hijab and Rukmini, a contemporary aspiring writer, they also unpack the realities of becoming a woman writer in India today, with Tarana reflecting her own insecurities of pursuing writing full-time and her relationships in Rukmini’s world and the ways women now have more agency and opportunities than the generations before them. Tarana also opens up about her process in fiction and non-fiction, and the emotional toll of delving into these stories.They discuss Tarana’s bold structural choice of writing Hijab's entire narrative in second person to let Rukmini speak directly to Hijab across centuries, questioning the silences left by history.Press play to be transported to a world of poetry, music and a love story of epic proportions. Books mentioned in this episode: Deg to Dastarkhan by Tarana HussainLast of the Earth by Deepa AnnaparaApplications for The Bound Publishing Course 2026 are now open.The Bound Publishing Course is a 3-month intensive course on book, magazine, and digital publishing. Through live sessions, workshops, and industry-facing projects, participants gain practical publishing skills and exposure to careers across the industry.Cohort size: 50 seatsFirst round of acceptances: 15th June 2026Applications are reviewed on a rolling bas‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.