Tawaif

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A tawaif (Urdu: طَوائِف⁩) 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]

The tawaifs excelled in and contributed to music, dance (mujra), theatre, and the Urdu literary tradition,[2] and were considered an authority on etiquette.

Known variously as tawaifs in North India and Pakistanrajdasis in Southern India.[3] Baijis in Bengal and naikins in Goa these professional singers and dancers were dubbed as “nautch girl” during the British rule.[4] "Nautch" was a British corruption of Nachna, the Urdu verb to dance.[5]

Tawaifs were largely a North Indian and Pakistani institution central to Mughal court culture from the 16th century onwards[6] and became even more prominent with the weakening of Mughal rule in the mid-18th century.[7] They contributed significantly to the continuation of traditional dance and music forms.[8]

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. [5]

History[edit]

Pre-Islamic history[edit]

A painting of Devadasis by Frederic Shoberl, 'The World in Miniature: Hindoostan'

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 BC Sanskrit drama Mṛcchakatika.

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. [9]

Post-Islamic history[edit]

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).[10]

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.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15][16]

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.[17] 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.

Like the geisha tradition in Japan,[18] 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.[19] 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.".[20]

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.[21] 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.[22][23]

Some of the most prominent tawaifs in history were Anarkali, Mah Laqa Bai, Bhagmati, Lal Kunwar, Qudsia Begum, Zainabadi Mahal, Mubarak Begum and Begum Samru (who rose to rule the principality of Sardhana in western Uttar Pradesh), Moran Sarkar (who became the wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh), Wazeeran (patronised by Lucknow's last nawab Wajid Ali Shah), Begum Hazrat Mahal (Wajid Ali's first wife who played an important role in the Indian Rebellion), Gauhar Jaan (a notable classical singer who sang for India's first-ever record), and Zohrabai Agrewali.

A number of television and film actresses from Pakistan were tawaifs, including Niggo, Nadira, and Naina. A number of singers from Pakistan also were tawaifs, including Zeenat Begum and Tamancha Jan.

Decline[edit]

Singer and dancer, Gauhar Jaan (1873–1930)

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:[24]

  • 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.
  • Husna Bai, thumri singer.
  • Jaddanbai (1892–1949), Indian master music composer, singer, actress, and film maker.
  • Rattan Bai (15 July 1890 – 1 January 1986), Indian actress and singer.[25]
  • 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.[26]
  • 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.
  • Rasoolan Bai (1902 – 15 December 1974), Indian Hindustani classical music vocal musician.
  • 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.[27]
  • 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".

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.[28]

Cultural Influences[edit]

The Courtesan Project[edit]

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.[29]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.[30][31]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.[32]

Tawaif and Kotha roam activities[edit]

"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.[33]

Popular culture[edit]

In films[edit]

The image of the tawaif has had an enduring appeal, immortalized in Bollywood and Lollywood movies and Pakistani dramas.[34] Films with a tawaif as a character include:

In documentary films[edit]

In Indian television[edit]

In Pakistani television[edit]

In literature[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Indian Classical Dance and the Making of Postcolonial National Identities: Dancing on Empire's Stage, Sitara Thobani, Routledge, 27 March 2017
  2. ^ "Mapping cultures". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 11 August 2004. Archived from the original on 27 November 2004.
  3. ^ Nevile, Pran (1996). Nautch girls of India : dancers, singers, playmates. Ravi Kumar Publisher. p. 29. ISBN 9788190068802.
  4. ^ Rao, Soumya (20 June 2019). "Tawaifs: The Unsung heroes of India's Freedom Struggle". Dawn. Lahore.
  5. ^ a b Brown, Louise T. (2006). Dancing Girls of Lahore. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 34–36. ISBN 0060740434.
  6. ^ Schoffield, Katherine Butler (April 2012). "The Courtesan Tale: Female Musicians and Dancers in Mughal Historical Chronicles, c.1556–1748". Gender & History. 24 (1): 150–171. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0424.2011.01673.x. S2CID 161453756.
  7. ^ "Fall of a culture". Tribune India. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  8. ^ Dance in Thumri, Projesh Banerji, Abhinav Publications, 1986, p. 31
  9. ^ Nevile, Pran (1996). Nautch girls of India: Dancers, singers, playmates. Prakriti India. pp. 19–22. ISBN 978-8190068802.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. ^ Nevile, Pran (1996). Nautch girls of India : dancers, singers, playmates. Ravi Kumar Publisher. p. 35. ISBN 9788190068802.
  11. ^ "A hundred years of unsung love". Mid Day. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  12. ^ "The Last Song of Awadh". Indian Express. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Tawaifnama: A brief history of Tawaif culture in India". 7 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Zumbroich, Thomas J. (2015) 'The missī-stained finger-tip of the fair': A cultural history of teeth and gum blackening in South Asia. eJournal of Indian Medicine 8(1): 1–32". Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Chronicling courtesans". 11 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Prabha Khaitan Foundation launches Vikram Sampath's book 'Mera Naam Gauhar Jaan Hai'". 29 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Tawaifnama: A brief history of Tawaif culture in India". 7 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Courtesans resisted male dominance". The Times of India. 29 December 2002. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  19. ^ "Chronicling courtesans". 11 February 2020.
  20. ^ Nevile, Pran (1996). Nautch girls of India : dancers, singers, playmates. Ravi Kumar Publisher. p. 30. ISBN 9788190068802.
  21. ^ Deodhar, Neerja (11 June 2019). "Tawaifs and tehzeeb: Notes from a symposium on courtesans' contributions to art, freedom struggle". FirstPost. Mumbai.
  22. ^ "The Sonshine Years: Bitter-sweet Memories of Growing up in Kamathipura". 4 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Tawaifnama: A brief history of Tawaif culture in India". 7 July 2021.
  24. ^ A Few Famous Tawaifs of the Time, THE TAWAIF, THE ANTI – NAUTCH MOVEMENT, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC: Part 6 – The Passing of the Torch, David Courtney, 23 February 2016
  25. ^ "A TALE OF TWO WOMEN - in search of their own songs".
  26. ^ GAUHER JAN FIRST INDIAN RECORD IN KOLKATTA, Oct 31, 2009
  27. ^ "Zareena Begum, Awadh's last royal singer, dies at 88". www.hindustantimes.com. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  28. ^ "In search of the other song". 25 January 2011.
  29. ^ "THE COURTESAN PROJECT Celebrating the Women Performers, the Tawaifs and the Baijis of North India".
  30. ^ "Courtesans can be compared to film stars of our times".
  31. ^ "Discrimination Against Courtesans is a Colonial Holdover in India".
  32. ^ "In the company of the tawaif:Recreating the magic with darbari kathak".
  33. ^ "Tawaifs & Kothas : Exploring Chawri Bazaar (Old Delhi Heritage Walk)".
  34. ^ Booth, Gregory D. "Making a Woman from a Tawaif:Courtesans as Heroes in Hindi Cinema". University of Auckland. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  35. ^ "Umrao Jaan". The Times of India. 4 November 2006. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  36. ^ "Ash glows at the mahurat of Umrao Jaan". Rediff. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  37. ^ "The Black Woman". Washington Bangla Radio. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  38. ^ "Umrao Jaan Ada". Samvaad Video Pvt.Ltd.
  39. ^ "TV adaptation of Rajinder Singh Bedi's 'Lajwanti' launched". 15 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  40. ^ "Bazar 1990 comprehension |Manto | bazar| telefilm". KTV Prime. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021 – via YouTube.
  41. ^ ""Deewar-e-Shab" Teaser Is All About An Artisan's Love Story [Video]". propakistani.pk. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  42. ^ "'Tawaifnama' review: Banaras down the ages through the eyes of tawaifs". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  43. ^ Taboo Urdu edition release www.oup.com.pk/pdf/higherEducation/urdu.pdf Kalunk
  44. ^ "StreeShakti - the Parallel Force".

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]