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Tawayafs in Lucknow. Pictures clicked somewhere nearby 1826 by David Courtney. |
Lucknow, the city ofulture, art and
poetry, the glory is not just confined; the city had Tawayafs as well. Tawayaf and
glory? It’s contradicting, right? Something that has always been criticized and
considered as social stigma can never be glorified.
That’s our attitude toward this
beautiful but miss-represented Tawayaf culture. Generally, when we talk about
something we read about that first, but this is one thing we have never read
about, all we discuss is something we have heard, or watched in distorting
movies and the Social Chinese whisper has made it taboo and suspicious. And
so, the beautiful and glorified chapter of the culture remained untouched,
unbelieved, unread.
The attitude towards 'Tawayaf' has been
miss-conceptual and prejudiced. History miss-figured Tawayafs in such a way
that till now our society has never been able to accept them, and they continued
to be a social stigma. Their existence was confined uptill red light areas. Un-aware
of the reality we kept on frowning at this particular section ignoring the
light of fact. Hindi movies of the 60s-80s may have partly been responsible for
this degradation of usage, through their representation of jilted lovers and
men alike seeking solace in the kothas,
legendary houses of ill-repute, to be entertained by the eroticmujras of tawaifs.
We were convinced with how they were portrayed and so we
never understood Who Were Tawayaf? Before we jump on to any conclusion let's
just check out the etymology of the word 'Tawayaf'
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Pic. courtesy - Saba Dewan's documentary 'Rasoolan Bai' |
The word 'Tawayaf' comes from an Arabic
word 'Tawaf' which means to move around and the plural meaning is a group of
dancing girl (again, just dancing).
The book of Lakshmi Subramanyam,
'Cultural Behavior’ explains, "Tawayafis understood by most of people to
mean an ordinary prostitute. Popular films have re-enforced this notion in the
way in which they have been represented”
Actually, we kept on frowning them
without understanding that there is a fine line of difference between a Tawayafsand
a Prostitute. A Tawayafsells her art and prostitute sells her body. We were
continuously failed to understand the difference and the myth has forced us to
stay skeptical about this cult.
Popular memory of the tawaif is based on
MirzaRuswa’s novel, Umrao Jan, the story of the quintessential tawaif in
nineteenth century LucknowTawayafswho were prominent part of Lucknawi culture
were far better than these day’s models. In any of the book where you see their
authentic pictures or in any movie depicting them, either it is Umrao-Jaan or
Pakeezah, never at a single point you will see them in revealing attire or
questionable dresses, unlike 'respected' models of these days who perform on
illicit dance numbers like 'Sheela' and government awards them by Rajiv Gandhi
Award. So called actresses of conventional cinema doesn't know anything better
than displaying their body, however the Tawayafs had always been graceful and
artistic,with strong skills over language and literature, good in writing poetries
and indulge in the decent style of Avadh which never went across
Aap-Janaab. Many of us don't know that
young Nawabs were sent to these "Tawayafs" to learn
"Tameez" and "Tehzeeb" which includes the ability to
differentiate and appreciate good music and literature, perhaps even practice
it, especially the art of ghazal writing.
Moreover, though the prominence of Tawayafswas
less obvious after the British annexed Lucknow in 1856, but their role in
India’s first war of Independence is on papers. In the civic tax ledgers of
1858-77, kept in the record room of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, Tawayafs
were classed under the occupational category of "Singing and Dancing Girls,"
and were noted in the highest tax bracket. We also overlook the fact of Tawayafs
who were active protagonist of Indian Rebellion of 1857.During Indian Mutiny
Mujra performances provided an opportunity for mutineers to meet and many Tawayaf
were also actively involved in the movement which resulted, many Kothas
confiscated by the British. But we will never consider that, because it was
Kotha, a place for Mujraa, so what if it ignited the spark of revolution among
Indians.
Now let's come to 'Mujraa', which is
another taboo word for current orthodox and confused society, who failed to dig
the reality and never accepted it as the national heritage. Mujra comes from a
Urdu word 'Muzahira' means 'Show'. Since the Mughal period till late 18th
century, art was on its peak. As we know Mughals as the art lovers, from
Shahjahan to Bahadur Shah Zafar who was a poet too. Mujra was the single way to
amuse dance lovers with the well written THUMRI and GHAZAL, the eminent part of
North Indian culture. Dance form in Mura was learned and practiced authentic Kathak.
We need to understand the fact, in the light of study material available in
multitudes of libraries of Lucknow that explain that Mujraa as a well-organized
show for dance and Ghazal lovers, and that is all. We tend to overlook the
books like 'The Making of Colonial Lucknow by veteran historian Veena Talwar
who observes, "To relate Tawayafs to prostitution is an extremely
corrupt portrayal of the institution". The falling civic standard has led human
mind of current to havehis own unreal assumptions.
ChoteMiyan, one of the heirs to a Kotha
in Chowk, the old market of NawabiLucknow rues,"Tawayafs were treated as
the epitome of etiquette and culture. They were the guardians of north Indian
music and dance, and hobnobbed with the nobility. Today, the Tawayafs are
virtually gone. The word has been redefined and applies to a common prostitute
now."
The redefinition has turned the things
upside-down, a section of the society with the glorious past has been tagged
now with the label of shame, ignoring its contribution in art, literature and
even in culture. Perhaps, this is really tough to change pre-conceive social
notion about Tawayafs now, because whatever was said, has been believed. But we
need to acknowledge the fact in the light of available related content that
Tawayafs were not some spot on our society they were something we can proud
about. However, the melancholic truth is that the word Tawayaf couldn’t explore
its real meaning other than a social abuse.