BHUBANESWAR: Eminent danseuse and Sufi Kathak pioneer Manjari Chaturvedi on Sunday said there is a need for destigmatising words like ‘tawaif, mujra and kotha’ in the country.
Speaking at the Odisha Literary Festival-2024 on ‘Tawaifs and Other Truths In Their Own Tongue’, Manjari said there are many misconceptions surrounding tawaifs in the country, primarily due to the Hindi movie industry. “A perception has been created that they are cleavage-showing, hip-shaking women as shown in Bollywood dance numbers. Because most of the filmgoers have never seen a tawaif in real life, they carry only a picture created by the Bollywood,” she said.
Manjari said the foundation of Hindi cinema was laid by the tawaifs. “They graduated from kothas to Parsi theatre and entered Hindi cinema. They contributed as actors, for songs and music, dancing, and even direction. One of the most relatable representations of tawaifs in their culture and art in Hindi cinema is Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah,” she said.
Contrasting the common perception of a tawaif with Begum Akhtar, the classical ghazal singer who was covered from head to toe during her public appearances, she said it is sad that women who were the most educated, rich and knowledgeable and experts in their art form, have been stigmatised.
Referring to the male-centric history of the country, Manjari said men who performed in durbars before kings were addressed as ‘ustaad, maharaj or guruji’. But women performers were portrayed as ‘nachne ganewali aurat’ (nautch girls). This is the stereotype created since the British who did not understand the words like ‘bhand, nakkal, mirasins or tawaif’. They clubbed everyone under one category, which included prostitutes. “Tawaifs were accomplished artistes. Art is not based on gender,” she said.
It has been 77 years since the country got Independence, but the negative perception and stigma towards tawaifs continue because men are not comfortable with independent women and want to always control them. So they portrayed them as bad women.