The Luta, Ifi Hindee, or Hindoostanee Jest-Book

William Carmichael Symth, Lallu Lal Kab and Meer Moohummud Tuqee, The Luta, Ifi Hindee, or Hindoostanee Jest-Book, Containing a Choice Collection of Humorous Stories, in the Arabic and Roman Characters; to which is added a Hindoostanee Poem, by Meer Moohummud Tuqee, London: J Madden and Co., 1840, second edition

xvi, 159 pages; hardbound with gilt text on the front board
8.6 x 5.7 in (22 x 14.5 cm)

"To the merchant, the traveller, the civil and military officer, the philosopher and physician; in short, to everyone who carries on concerns of any moment, in India, the Hindoostanee Language is more generally necessary and advantageous than any other; and, on this account, it ought to be the most cultivated and esteemed" - William Butterworth Bayley, 1802

Lallu Lal compiled Lataif-i-Hindi or The New Cyclopedia Hindoostanica of Wit in Urdu and Devanagari scripts. This book is a collection of around 100 witty stories and anecdotes.

"He was an academic, author and translator from British India. He was an instructor in Hindustani language at Fort William College. He is notable for Prem Sagar, the first work in modern literary Hindi.

He had knowledge of Persian and Hindustani. He came to Murshidabad to earn a living and served the Nawab of Murshidabad for 7 years. He was noticed by John Gilchrist, who brought him to the Fort William College in Calcutta. There, Lallu Lal translated and authored several literary works into modern vernacular Hindi. He retired from the Fort William College in 1823-24 CE, after serving there for 24 years." (Source: Wikipedia)

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