Written 200 years ago, originally in Farsi, later rendered into Urdu, "The Dancing Girl" is India's first modern novel. The author, a clerk, portrays the social and economic milieu of India in 1790 at the beginning of British colonial rule. The writer falls in love with a member of a troupe of dancers hired to entertain British officers, a common practice of the day (along with riding, hunting and shooting). This translation is by the Urdu novelist, Qurratulain Hyder.  (IDA61, $9.95)