For the 1985 Indian film, see Tawaif (film). For the small kingdoms of Al-Andalus known as tawa'if, see Taifa.
Tawaif Mah Laqa Bai singing poetry
A tawaif was a highly successful courtesan, dancing girl or female entertainer who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal era. Many tawaifs (nautch girls to the British) were forced to go into prostitution due to a lack of opportunities by the time of the British Raj.[1]
Known variously as tawaifs in North India, Baijis in Bengal and naikins in Goa these professional singers and dancers were dubbed as “nautch girl” during the British rule.[2] Tawaifs were largely a North Indian institution central to Mughal court culture from the 16th century onwards[3] and became even more prominent with the weakening of Mughal rule in the mid-18th century.[4] They contributed significantly to the continuation of traditional dance and music forms.[5] The tawaifs excelled in and contributed to music, dance (mujra), theatre, and the Urdu literary tradition,[6] and were considered an authority on etiquette.
History
Miniature painting showing Qudsiya Begum being entertained with fireworks and dance (1742 CE by Mir Miran)
Tawaifs have existed for centuries in the Indian subcontinent, with one of the earliest references to the profession being the character Vasantasena from the 5th century BCSanskrit dramaMṛcchakatika. In early India, Gaṇikā referred to a public dancing girl.Ganikas were trained in fine arts like dance and music in order to entertain kings, princes, and other wealthy patrons on religious and social occasions.[7]Women competed to win the title of a Nagarvadhu.The most beautiful woman, and most talented in various dance forms, was chosen as the Nagarvadhu.[8]For example, Amrapali is a famous Nagarvadhu or royal dancer.[9]
It is believed in folkloric history that Urvashi was said to have been born on earth as a devadasi and imparted the divine knowledge of dance unto humans. The first dance of the devadasi took place in a temple in the presence of a king who honoured her with titles and gifts and she would be well versed in temple rituals and took part in temple festivals. Devadasis were well received across North India and modern-day Pakistan and Chinese pilgrim Huein Tsang who visited India in the 7th century testified to the large number of dancing girls in the Sun Temple of Multan. Al-Biruni in his famous study of India in the 11th century recorded that about 500 dancing girls were active in the Somnath temple. [10]
The patronage of the Mughal court in the Doab region and the subsequent atmosphere of 16th century Awadh made arts-related careers a viable prospect. Mughal Emperor Akbar himself was enchanted by a Portuguese expert dancing girl whom he named Dilruba (heart warmer).[11]
Nautch girls in Kashmir, an albumen print by Frith, c.1870's.
Many girls were taken at a young age and trained in both performing arts, including mujra, Kathak, and Hindustani classical music, as well as literature, poetry (particularly ghazal), thumri, and dadra. The training of young tawaifs also encompassed Urdu writing and enunciation, as well as social skills employed in cultivating patrons and retaining them, particularly the complex etiquette associated with their craft, in which they were seen as experts.[12]
Once a trainee had matured and possessed a sufficient command over dancing and singing, she became a tawaif, high-class dancers who served the rich and noble.[13] Unsurprisingly then, their training in music and dance started at a very young age, under the guidance and tutelage of renowned ustaads (masters). Young girls regularly spent hours in riyaz, learning songs and dance to the exacting standards set by their teachers. The term riyaz, from Arabic, connotes abstinence, devotion, discipline and hard labour. At a mundane level, regular riyaz is necessary for a flawless performance before an audience. Many well-known tawaifs practiced and learned music throughout their careers, seeking masters from different music traditions (gharanas) to add to their performance style.[14]
The tawaif's introduction into her profession was marked by a celebration, the so-called missī ceremony, that customarily included the inaugural blackening of her teeth.[15]
It is also believed that young nawabs-to-be were sent to these tawaifs to learn tameez and tehzeeb which included the ability to recognise and appreciate good music and literature, perhaps even practice it, especially the art of ghazal writing. They also became teachers for the sons of wealthy and elite families, who would often send their sons to kothas so that they could learn Urdu speaking, poetry and etiquette from tawaifs. The boys would be told to sit and observe how a tawaif goes about her interactions. The Tawaif's contribution to society came from a tradition of families and enjoyed a hierarchy. The uppermost echelon of tawaifs was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching adab (etiquette) and kaayda (manners) to the kings and young princes. They would also familiarize the royalty with the finer nuances of poetry, music, dance and literature. By the 18th century, they had become the central element of polite, refined culture in North India.[16][17]
The kotha of a tawaif is a performance space and as a guardian of arts and culture, and is only open to the city's elite and wealthy patrons.[18] In these rarified spaces, tawaifs would compose poetry, sing and dance with live musical composition, as well as performing at banquets, all of which required years of rigorous training. Tawaif is a performer who thrives on sponsorship from the royal and aristocratic families, and the dancers are responsible for performing mujra dance with good manners. True mujra dance is elegant, complex, and artistic, presented in an elegant manner. At grand occasions such as a marriage or the birth of a male heir, the tawaif is also invited to perform. In such occasions, they usually perform a mythological or legendary story, like singing. The tawaifs would dance, sing (especially ghazals), recite poetry (shairi) and entertain their suitors at mehfils.
Tawaif Mah Laqa Bai dancing in court
Like the geisha tradition in Japan,[19] their main purpose was to professionally entertain their guests, and while sex was often incidental, it was not assured contractually. High-class or the most popular tawaifs could often pick and choose among the best of their suitors. Tawaifs performed at temples during holidays and participated in temple celebrations, which had been passed down from generation to generation. They also had the tradition of performing at the Burhwa Mangal bazaar in the spring after Holi festival. Such events provided significant platform for tawaifs, not just for the patronage but also for the opportunity it offered for tawaifs to showcase their skills to general audiences and, thereby, retain societal acceptability for their trade.[20] As a result of their popularity many dancing girls became very wealthy, according to Portuguese traveller, Domingo Paes the dancing girls were fabulously rich and Domingo was "struck by their collars of gold studded with diamonds, rubies and pearls, bracelets on their arms, girdles below and, of necessity, anklets on their feet.".[21]
There were hierarchies among the performing artists, and the tawaifs were at the top, a class distinct from street performers and prostitutes. (A Tawaif is a dancer, not a prostitute.) Tawaif kothas, where the tawaifs often lived and performed, would host meetings of local intelligentsia, presided mostly by the most senior tawaif of the kotha. Tawaifs enjoyed influence among writers, journalists and poets. The poets longed for a tawaif to sing their works and asked the famous tawaif if she could sing his poems. In those days, having tawaif perform his own work was a way to ensure that poetry would be remembered and passed down from generation to generation.[22] A Tawaif had an unconventional approach to relationships, where female performers were expected to remain unmarried but were permitted to have relationships with patrons. Tawaifs traditionally served loyal mistresses to wealthy patrons. Only once a relationship was terminated, either due to the death of their patron or a mutual decision to part ways, would a tawaif look to enter into another relationship.[23][24]
However by the time the British Raj had annexed Punjab, the services of Tawaifs were no longer valued and even the most highly trained dancing girls were reviled as lewd by the Victorian standards of the British. Despite this, British men were happy to take local women as concubines and mistresses but were uninterested in becoming patrons of the formerly well tolerated tawaifs of Lahore, and even less interested in spending lavish sums upon them.[25]
The annexation of Oudh by the East India Company in 1856 sounded the first death-knell for this medieval-era institution. It was soon looked down upon with disfavour by the colonial government, and the tawaifs were eventually forced to go into prostitution due to a lack of employment opportunities. Social reformers in India opposed them as social decadence.[1] The institutions survived until India's independence in 1947. Some of the famous tawaifs include:[26]
Begum Akhtar (7 October 1914 – 30 October 1974), Indian singer and actress, known as "Mallika-e-Ghazal" (Queen of Ghazals).
Binodini Dasi (1862–1941), Indian actress, pioneering entrepreneur of the Bengali stage.
Fatma Begum (1892–1983), Indian actress, director and screenwriter.
Jaddanbai (1892–1949), Indian master music composer, singer, actress, and film maker.
Rattan Bai (15 July 1890 – 1 January 1986), Indian actress and singer.[27]
Kajjanbai (15 February 1915 – December 1945) Indian singer and actress, often referred to as the "Nightingale of Bengal".
Malika Pukhraj (1912 – 2004), Pakistani ghazal and folk singer.
Malka Jaan, and daughter Gauhar Jaan (1873–1930), who created the very first Indian song recording in 1902.[28]
Mukhtar Begum (12 July 1901 – 25 February 1982), Pakistani classical, ghazal singer and actress. She was known as The Queen of Music for singing songs in films and on radio.
Roshan Ara Begum (1917 – 6 December 1982), vocalist belonging to the Kirana gharana of Hindustani classical music. She is also known by her honorific title Malika-e-Mauseeqi (The Queen of Music) in both Pakistan and India.
Shobha Gurtu (1925–2004), Indian singer in the light Hindustani classical style, known as The Thumri Queen.
Zareena Begum of Lucknow (1947 – 12 May 2018),Indian classical singer,She is a student of Begum Akhtar.[29]
Zohrabai(1868-1913), Hindustani classical singer of the Agra gharana.
Zeenat Begum (11 November 1931 – 11 December 2007), Pakistani singer, known as "The Queen of Yesteryear" for singing songs in films and on radio.
Tamancha Jan (10 July 1918 – 20 October 2008), Pakistani folk singer, known as "The Singing Siren" and "The Nightingale of Lahore".
The tawaifs had actively participated in anti-British actions behind the scenes. Their buildings, known as "kothas", became meeting areas and hiding places for anti-British elements. Those tawaifs who accumulated wealth provided financial support to anti-British elements.Some tawaifs suffered retaliation from colonial authorities. Their kotha was searched and their belongings confiscated.The Victorian-era morality project, which placed a premium on women’s chastity and domesticity.As public performers, tawaifs were equated with prostitutes and their kothas were branded as brothels.[30]Mujra dance originally did not refer to vulgar dance, but an elegant and ceremonial dance, usually performed by tawaif. During the British colonial period, some tawaifs became prostitute. The distinction between prostitutes and tawaifs began to blur. Some prostitutes also called their erotic dances mujra dance. Mujra dance gradually became associated with sex and prostitution.[31][32]
A Mehil-e-Mushaira tawaifs performing at Hyderabad, in the presence of the courtiers
They used to be the only source of popular music and dance and were often invited to perform on weddings and other occasions. Some of them became concubines and wives of maharajas and wealthy individuals. They were the first singers to record on gramophone with the emergence of that new technology. With the emergence of movies, however, they lost popularity. With their traditional spaces and modes of music rehearsal under attack, many tawaifs found space as performers in the newly emerging industries of mass entertainment, such as the gramophone, theatre and later films. The earliest singers to record for the gramophone, in the early 20th century, came from tawaif backgrounds, as did the first actresses of Parsi theatre and, later, the ‘talkies’, films with sound. A majority of tawaifs could not make this transition, however, and continued to perform within their kothas to a dwindling group of patrons.[33]
Decline
After the British colonization, although more brothels and prostitutes were operating in heeramandi, there were still tawaif performing activities in the area, heeramandi retained its reputation as a centre of the performing arts.[34]After the partition, young and attractive tawaifs from Heera Mandi became the first choice of Pakistan film makers.Tawaifs from the heeramandi joined the Lollywood industry and gained much fame and wealth.Some of the most skilled tawaifs performed as backup dancers in early Pakistan films.[35]In heeramandi and surrounding areas, there were many dance classrooms and music classrooms, which were closed as the tawaifs and musicians left.[36]
With the development of time, the tawaif in India has gradually disappeared.In the 1980s, when kothas were no longer recognized as centres for aesthetics, and society disapproved of the tawaif’s art, as they felt it was sex work in the guise of adakari (performance). It was an era when tawaifs had to dodge guns, goons and Ghalib’s ghazals.The tawaifs who are still performing no longer have the same literary education as before, but they are not sex workers,"a courtesan is no less than a circus performer, balancing a bottle on her head".[37]They are all trained in Kathak, to regale the men who visit them in the evenings. Another skill they are expected to master is singing. Ghazals,hori and thumris,they know it all to the best of their ability. But just enough to earn a livelihood.[38]In addition to performing at kotha,tawaifs also during weddings at home, celebrations of child birth and other festivities,provided the entertainment of singing and dancing.[39]The 1993 Bow Bazaar bomb blast in Calcutta brought an end to the kothas in the busy commercial district. As dance bars and disco music replaced mujras, kathak and thumri, the tawaifs aband on the profession.[40]
Cultural Influences
The Courtesan Project
Indian artist and Kathak dancer Manjari Chaturvedi founded "The Courtesan Project",dedicated to work towards removing social stigmas associated with tawaifs and thereby giving them much deserved respect and place as artists par excellence.
Manjari Chaturvedi performed with Zareena Begum, on her traditional Tawaif songs that she sang live in 1999.
In 2009, Manjari Chaturvedi directed & performed in “Nazo - An Ode to the Courtesan” at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi. She presented old traditional compositions of Tawaifs and Mirasins, that were sung by Zareena Begum of Nanpara, Radhika Chopra of Delhi and Nurul Hasan Of Bilhera. This became the start of The Courtesan Project.
In 2014, Manjari Chaturvedi fulfilled Zareena Begum's final wish of singing in a mehfil by organizing a program called "The Last Song of Awadh." Manjari had been supporting Zareena, who was old, paralyzed, and frail, for many years. Manjari recognized the stigma attached to courtesans and tawaifs, so she held an academic discussion on their performance art during the program.
In 2019,Manjari Chaturvedi curated a comprehensive about tawaif seminar featuring films, talks, discussions, and performances, which took place in both Delhi and Mumbai.
Manjari Chaturvedi continues to speak and perform the art of tawaif at every platform till date. In year 2020 a session was held at Algebra as “Subversive Ustads” the riveting, un charted history of india’s Courtesan or Tawaif. And why they were the true radicals of their time.Manjari seeks to chronicle the historically remarkable role of the ‘tawaif’ ( women performers) in artistic life: as muse to poets and painters, writers and kings, musicians and leaders. And in so doing, she seeks to claim for these maligned women the reverence due to them for their learning and their performance art.[41]Manjari Chaturvedi performs mujra dance of tawaif on stage to restore the true form of mujra.At the core of the Courtesan Project, Chaturvedi’s primary mission is to redefine three significant terms: “tawaif,” “mujra” (an Indigenous dance form in India), and “kotha”. Chaturvedi contends that these words have been misappropriated as derogatory labels, despite their historical association with an esteemed art form.[42][43]At the same time, Manjari Chaturvedi also pointed out that historically tawaif performed kathak, and tawaif participated in the performance of kathak, one of the classical Indian dances.[44]
Tawaif and Kotha roam activities
"Tawaifs & Kothas" cultural tour initiated by "Enroute Indian History".Explore the lives of the tawaifs or dancing girls on a heritage walk through the streets of Shahjahanabad with Enroute Indian History.[45]
The image of the tawaif has had an enduring appeal, immortalized in Bollywood and Lollywood movies and Pakistani dramas.[46] Films with a tawaif as a character include:
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a kept mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person.
Thumri is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb thumuknaa, which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dramatic gestures, mild eroticism, evocative love poetry and folk songs, especially from Uttar Pradesh, though there are regional variations.
Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as Kathakar ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the Hindu epics and mythology through dance, songs and music. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word katha which means "story", and kathakar which means "the one who tells a story", or "to do with stories".
Runa Laila is a Bangladeshi playback singer and composer. She started her career in Pakistan film industry in the late 1960s. Her style of singing is inspired by Pakistani playback singer Ahmed Rushdi and she also made a pair with him after replacing another singer Mala. Her playback singing in films – The Rain (1976), Jadur Banshi (1977), Accident (1989), Ontore Ontore (1994), Devdas (2013) and Priya Tumi Shukhi Hou (2014) - earned her seven Bangladesh National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer. She won the Best Music Composer award for the film Ekti Cinemar Golpo (2018).
Umrao Jaan is a 1981 Indian period musical drama film directed by Muzaffar Ali and starring Rekha as the eponymous character. Based on the 1905 Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada, the film tells the story of a Lucknow tawaif and poet, and her rise to fame.
Heera Mandi, is a neighbourhood and bazaar located in the Walled City of Lahore. It is specifically known as the red light district of Lahore, Pakistan.
Mirza Wajid Ali Shah was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856.
The nautch was a popular court dance performed by girls in later Mughal and colonial India. The word "nautch" was a British corruption of Nachna, the Urdu verb to dance. The culture of the performing art of the nautch rose to prominence during the later period of Mughal Empire and the rule of the East India Company.
Umrao Jaan is a 2006 Indian period musical romantic drama film produced and directed by J. P. Dutta, based on the Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada and is about the famous Tawaif of the title. Aishwarya Rai stars in the lead role along with Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Sunil Shetty, Divya Dutta, Himani Shivpuri and Kulbhushan Kharbanda in supporting roles.
Mirza Muhammad Hadi RuswaUrdu مرزا ہادی رسوا was an Indian Urdu poet and writer of fiction, plays, and treatises. He served on the Nawab of Awadh's advisory board on language matters for many years. He spoke many languages including Urdu, Greek, and English.
Mujra is a dance performance by women in a format that emerged during Mughal rule in India, where the elite class and local rulers like the nawabs of the Indian society used to frequent tawaifs (courtesans) for their entertainment.
Gauhar Jaan was an Indian singer and dancer from Kolkata. She was one of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India, which was later released by the Gramophone Company of India and resulted in her being known as "the Gramophone girl" and "the first recording superstar of India". Having recorded more than 600 songs in more than ten languages between 1902 and 1920, Jaan is credited with popularising Hindustani classical music such as thumri, dadra, kajri, and tarana during the period.
Umrao Jaan Ada is an Urdu novel by Mirza Hadi Ruswa (1857–1931), first published in 1899. It is considered the first Urdu novel by many and tells the story of a tawaif and poet by the same name from 19th century Lucknow, as recounted by her to the author.
Manjari Chaturvedi is an Indian Kathak dancer. She belongs to the Lucknow Gharana.
Rasoolan hussain was a leading Indian Hindustani classical music vocal musician. Belonging to the Benaras gharana, she specialized in the romantic Purab Ang of the Thumri musical genre and tappa.
Mah Laqa Bai, born Chanda Bai, and sometimes referred to as Mah Laqa Chanda, was an Indian 18th century Urdu poet, courtesan (tawaif) and philanthropist based in Hyderabad. In 1824, she became the first female poet to have a diwan of her work, a compilation of Urdu Ghazals named Gulzar-e-Mahlaqa, published posthumously. She lived in a period when Dakhini was making its transition into the highly Persianized Urdu. Her literary contributions provide insight into such linguistic transformations in southern India.
Jaanisaar is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language historical drama film, directed by Muzaffar Ali, and written by Javed Siddiqui, Shama Zaidi and Muzaffar Ali. Jaanisaar is a love saga of a revolutionary tawaif of Awadh, India, and a prince brought up in England, set 20 years after the first war of Indian Rebellion of 1857. The film stars Imran Abbas and Pernia Qureshi, the latter making her debut with the film. The film was released on 7 August 2015.
"In Ankhon Ki Masti Ke" is an Urdu song from the Indian film Umrao Jaan (1981). The music to this song was composed by Khayyam, the lyrics written by Shahryar, and sung by Asha Bhosle.
The Mubarak Begum Mosque also known as Randi ki Masjid is a 19th-century historical red sandstone mosque belonging to the Mughal Empire located in Hauz Qazi, Shahjahanabad, Delhi, the Chawri Bazaar metro station in India. The mosque is also referred to as courtesan's (tawaif's) mosque. On 19 July 2020, the central dome of the mosque collapsed due to heavy rainfall. It was reported that only a part of the dome was crashed down around 6:45 am. Currently the mosque is under the custody of Delhi Wakf Board.
Umrao Jaan Ada is a Pakistani television series based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa's novel Umrao Jaan Ada. It is directed by Raana Sheikh and first aired on Geo Entertainment. Aamina Bano played the title role of Umrao Jaan. The supporting cast features actors Bushra Ansari, Faisal Qureshi, Imran Abbas, Humayun Saeed and Mehmood Aslam in prominent roles. Made with a heavy production budget, it is one of the expensive television series made in Pakistan. The series depicts the tawaif of Lucknow during the mid-nineteenth century. It was a pioneer portrayal of extramarital sex after Zia's era. Due to having several mujra performances as well, the series was termed as too bold at that time.
References
1 2 Indian Classical Dance and the Making of Postcolonial National Identities: Dancing on Empire's Stage, Sitara Thobani, Routledge, 27 March 2017
↑ Nevile, Pran (1996). Nautch girls of India: Dancers, singers, playmates. Prakriti India. pp.19–22. ISBN978-8190068802.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
↑ Nevile, Pran (1996). Nautch girls of India: dancers, singers, playmates. Ravi Kumar Publisher. p.35. ISBN9788190068802.
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