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Tracing the remarkable lives of South Asia’s tawaifs— a space where history meets unlearning ✨
Image title: Umrao Jan, Tawaif, Lucknow, c.1874
Photographer: Daroga Abbas Ali
Image source: Sarmaya Arts Foundation
02.04.2025 22:41 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
In the 1936 Legislative Assembly session, some Indian members criticised Delhi radio station for inviting tawaifs to sing on such a public platform.
In response, The Indian Listener, All India Radio’s journal, asked if they were expected to form a ‘Committee of Morals’ to investigate artists.
Song and Image source:
Gauhar Jaan. (1906). Nahak Laye Gavanava Mora - Bhairobi Thumri [Song]. On Hindustani song - Female Solo [Album]. Gramophone Concert Record.
Listen to this 1906 recording of tawaif Gauhar Jaan singing ‘Nahak Laye Gavanava Mora’
— one of the first recorded songs in South Asia!
Link:
archive.org/details/img-...
Image caption: Nautch Girls, Delhi, c.1862-1863
Photographed by: Charles Shepherd and Arthur Robertson
Image Credit: Sarmaya Arts Foundation
Image 3:
Shepherd, C. Indian Nautch girls.
www.oldindianphotos.in/2010_12_20_a...
Image 2:
Gobindram and Oodeyram. Dancer and Musicians, Royal Court of Jaisalmer, 1880-1890.
Image credit: Sarmaya Arts Foundation.
Image 1:
Shepherd, C. (1862). Three Nautch girls dancing in costume.
www.oldindianphotos.in/2010_12_20_a...
02.04.2025 03:17 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
In 1868, the British passed the Contagious Diseases Act to curb venereal diseases among soldiers in cantonment cities like Lucknow and Calcutta.
Tawaifs were equated with sex workers, labeled ‘immoral’ and ‘diseased,’ detained in lock hospitals, and subjected to invasive medical tests.
Film:
Bhansali, S. L. (Creator). (2024). Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar [TV series]. Netflix.
Image:
Deb Roy, L. (2024, May 4). Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha’s Heeramandi Review: Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial series is intoxicatingly beautiful. Firstpost.
www.firstpost.com/entertainmen...
Sources:
Image, Quotation and Information:
Gaekwad, M. (2023). The Last Courtesan: Writing my Mother’s Memoir. HarperCollins Publishers.
Information was also taken from an unpublished interview:
R. Singh, personal communication, July 25, 2024.
Information source:
Sampath, V. (2010). “My Name Is Gauhar Jaan!”: The Life and Times of a Musician. Rupa Publications India.
Image source:
Admin. (2018, February 11). Gauhar Jaan – an Armenian lady who became India’s first Superstar. People of AR.
www.peopleofar.com/2018/02/11/g...
Film:
Ali, M. (Director). (1981). Umrao Jaan [Film]. Muzaffar Ali Productions.
Image source:
Shekhar, M. (2021, March 31). When Rekha said she didn’t deserve a National Award for Umrao Jaan: ‘I don’t think I did anything special’. The Indian Express.
indianexpress.com/article/ente...
The 1993 Kolkata bomb blast didn’t just take lives— it also killed the city’s tawaif culture.
Rekhabai, a courtesan, found herself stranded— where should she go?
In this poignant memoir, Manish Gaekwad writes his mother’s story— one of India’s last courtesans— as her world crumbles around her.
Image and information source: manjarichaturvedi.com/the-courtesa...
29.03.2025 03:17 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
The Courtesan Project— a research and cultural initiative that explores the artistic legacy of tawaifs. Founder Manjari Chaturvedi (in picture) revives courtesan histories through her genre of Sufi Kathak dance.
Check out her unique style of storytelling! manjarichaturvedi.com/the-courtesa...
Heeramandi was a courtesan fairy tale— women dripping in jewels, wrapped in luxury, and living the high life. But by the end of British rule, when their profession took a nosedive, the reality was different—think less grandeur, more survival mode!
27.03.2025 05:00 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Umrao Jaan is a 1981 Indian film starring the legendary actress Rekha (image). Set in 19th Century Lucknow, the film tells the story of a tawaif-poet named Umrao Jaan, and her rise to fame in a time of political turmoil. The film is a must-watch for lovers of history and cinema alike! #genderhistory
17.03.2025 01:30 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Gauhar Jaan, a celebrated tawaif, was one of the highest-paid artists of her time. Her 1000-rupee concert fee is the stuff of legends.
Her fame brought great wealth, making her one of British India’s top taxpayers and among the first documented women taxpayers in Indian history ✨
#genderhistory
✨The Courtesan Chronicles✨
Explore the world of India’s tawaifs—extraordinary courtesans who have shaped history and culture for generations.
Join us as we honor their legacies, and explore a world of elegance, resilience, and power.
Together, let’s reimagine history—one story at a time. ❤️
