A kathak dancer sheds light on the lives of erstwhile courtesans through a dance performance in the city
Manjari Chaturvedi performs for an earlier event at the venue
A supremely talented community of extraordinarily gifted artistes, these women graced the halls of a fortunate few with their unmatched sophistication in the field of performing arts during the Mughal era. Yet, the legacy of tawaifs, or courtesans, now stands tarnished, unjustly associated with promiscuity and a perceived lack of dignity whenever their names are mentioned in conversation. Manjari Chaturvedi, a trained kathak dancer, who went on to pioneer Sufi kathak in the country, aims to retell the stories of these women through a kathak-infused monologue, Main Tawaif.
Chaturvedi tells us that it was a chance meeting with an erstwhile tawaif 12 years ago that sparked her journey of retelling their enthralling stories. “I realised the privilege we hold as modern artistes simply by virtue of being educated to voice our opinions. These women [tawaifs] were as skilled in their artform as any artiste today, if not more. But historic records, often written by men, offer a unidimensional male gaze into the personal lives of these women. My performances are an attempt to highlight the artistic legacy they left behind for the world,” she remarks.
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Elaborating on how the performances aim to tip the scales in favour of the community, the dancer explains that each act from her performance is inspired by an erstwhile tawaif, and is followed by a short recollection of anecdotes from their individual lives and contributions to the artform. “It took me years to refine my performance to be historically accurate because the dancing styles of tawaifs are not well-documented. I had to trace them back to old archives and look for pictures and films that portray the intricacies of their performances and connect the dots,” she reveals.
She points out that the hypocrisy in representation exists not only in mainstream media, but also among the closed performing art circles. “People take pride in singing ghazals and performing the dance forms pioneered by courtesans, but never credit them for their contributions. It has been a longstanding taboo. Even when I set out on this journey at the peak of my career, my contemporaries termed it professional suicide, concerned that I would be looked down upon. It was a moment of catharsis for me when I threw caution to the wind and unabashedly stated, ‘Main tawaif’,” Chaturvedi concludes.
On: November 18; 7 pm
At: The Royal Opera House, Opera House, Girgaon
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Rs 499 onwards
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