A Life in Urdu

Ralph Russell (1918 - 2008) has been widely recognised as the greatest western scholar of Urdu. Khushwant Singh described him as 'the most revered name of interpreters of Ghalib's life and works.' His unusual skill as a translator and his accessible writing have opened up an appreciation of Urdu literature to a wide range of readers, and his honesty, humour and unusual insight have won him a unique place in the affections of lovers of Urdu worldwide. For thirty years he headed the Urdu department at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and was a popular visiting scholar in India and Pakistan. He pioneered the teaching of Urdu to English speakers in communities across the UK, to encourage mutual understanding between people of different backgrounds. His books published by OUP include The Oxford India Ghalib: Life, Letters and Ghazals; and with Khurshidul Islam, Three Mughal Poets.



Marion Molteno is the literary executor for Ralph Russell. She studied Urdu with

him and worked closed with him for the last 26 years of his life. She has edited several of his books, including his autobiography and his introduction to Ghalib's ghazals, The Famous Ghalib: The Sound of My Moving Pen (2015) and A Thousand Yearnings: A Book of Urdu Poetry & Prose (2016). She has written and lectured widely on issues of education and development, and is the author of four novels, all of which have won or been shortlisted for international prizes. Her latest novel, Uncertain Light (2015) was a finalist for the Indie Book Awards and the International Rubery Book Awards.