“In Aankho Ki Masti Se”: A Glimpse into the History of Tawaifs

Lalun is a member of the most ancient profession in the world.”

Published in 1889, “On the City Wall” is a short story written by Rudyard Kipling about an Indian prostitute, and these were the exact words with which he begins the tale of Lalun.

The saying “Women pleasuring men is the oldest profession in the world” probably gained popularity from this particular work of literature. The sex trade has been quite prevalent since time immemorial, in the context of Central Asia, the sex slaves were sold openly in the Bazaars of Arab and Kabul.

However, one cannot overlook the fact that the history of Prostitution has always provided its readers with extreme flavors of cultural conflicts and controversies along with a trail of long-lost secrets.

In today’s time, while wandering amongst the hustling crowd of Chandni Chowk, one might immerse in the tasty platters of the extravagant food hub that the place provides comprising the famous Tunde Kababs, Parathe, Korma, chaat, etc., or just find solace by enjoying a warm cup of tea on the steps of Jama Masjid in the soothing waves of the evening wind.

Often unaware and ignorant of the fact that this historic city of Emperor Shahjahan was once also an abode of tawaifs and sex workers who led quite a luxurious and respectable lifestyle in comparison to today’s GB Road, the red light area of New Delhi, which is just a 15min walk from Chandni Chowk.

As you walk down the vibrant pavilions of this township designed by Jahnara, the eldest daughter of Shajahan, you will find pieces of evidence of the first form of apartmentisation in Delhi. This new city of the Mughals proved to be one of the highly valued social hubs and a platform that provided the intermingling of different cultures and faiths. It had a place for people belonging to all sorts of occupations including the women wrapped under the veil of prostitution. The Bazaar was designed to habilitate the markets on the ground floor while the second floor was allotted to the tawaifs and courtesans, the remains of which still exist, inhibited by their predecessors or locals.

The Tawaifs were a representation of the quintessential women of elegance at the time, excelling in the highest forms of etiquette and holding firm proficiency in the fields of dance, music, and poetry. We can catch a glimpse of this in the performance of the veteran actor Rekha, who was perfectly able to catch the essence of elegance through her role as Ameeran in the Bollywood movie Umrao Jaan, with her portrayal of the epitome of grace and piousness as she dances to the song “Dil Cheez kya hai”.

However, it was not easy being a Tawaif because the term originates from the word “Tauf” literally, to go round and round. Initially, long before the tawaif culture became prevalent, the dancing girls had to wear long skirts and dance in circular motions which uplifted their skirts, exposing their bare feet, thus a source of pleasure for men. Gradually this dance was nurtured into the Tawaif system over centuries and there were only a few talented women who could keep dancing in this motion for the longest time and thus were given the elite title of Tawaif. Only the elite and wealthy men were capable of witnessing these women.

This profession of beauty and pleasure was however not constant, once your face is lost to old age you lose your value. Therefore, these women of elite pleasure spent most of their days grooming themselves in order to stay in shape and have perfect appearances along with regular Riyaaz of their art.

This particular profession was divided into further categories, the lowest was the KASBI - a family that practiced the sex trade for generations, the Knajaris - a lowly uncultured Tawaif, Nochi - a trainee under a known Tawaif and at the top were of course the Tawaif, the elite courtesans.

While talking about Tawaifs one cannot help but come across the Lovestory of Rana Dil, a famous Tawaif, and Dara Shikoh, the crown prince before he lost to Aurangzeb in a battle and was executed by the latter. It was believed that during their courtship Dara offered his heart to his lady love but being a Tawaif she demanded to be his wife instead of a courtesan in his harem to which the Shehzada agreed and married the destitute.

However, after his death, Aurangzeb took his chance to woo Rana by sending her gifts, and letters, trying to force her into his harem, but she declined each time and often defied him by composing songs about Dara knowing that the emperor had banned music in his court. Finally, she sort to extreme actions, she took a knife, chopped her hair, sliced various parts of her face, and sent them to Aurangzeb to prove her love for her dead beau.

True love indeed!

However, the arrival of the British in the 19th century transformed the elite status of these courtesans into a vile one. The British started to view this profession as unholy and a social evil due to which The Contagious Diseases Acts of 1864 and 1868 were passed in order to prevent the spread of STDs among soldiers, but they also resulted in making prostitutes the subjects of forced physical inspections.

That's not all, the concept of the "fallen woman", a term used to describe women who had engaged in premarital or extramarital sex was introduced under the Britishers due to which they were often forced into prostitution for their sustenance.

The Britishers clearly had double standards as they behaved quite hypocritically in this scenario as well, on one hand, we see that they were making prostitution illegal in colonial India while on the other they divided the spaces of prostitutes into two parts, one for the Indian men where women of darker skin were habilitated within an unhygienic living area while the other consisted of fair-skinned women, often brought from Kashmir for their own sexual needs.

Despite the efforts of the British to regulate and control prostitution, the industry continued to flourish. The Tawaifs now left their once luxurious lifestyle and started performing their art on the roads. However, it slowly began to change when Gauhar Jaan, a tawaif from Kolkata, recorded Raag Jogiya which was later released by the Gramophone company, and thus, a star was born, giving her the title of the “Gramophone girl of India”. She recorded over 600 songs in her lifetime and became the first Indian Record artist. However, not everyone could gain this success. The partition of India in 1947, sadly created a large population of homeless women who turned to prostitution for survival.

Although the Supreme Court of India recognized the right of sex workers to live with dignity in 2018, the stigma that is attached to this practice is quite disheartening, as this entire institution is subjected to the harsh realities of illegal child prostitution, soliciting, kerb calling and what not, despite being a legal practice in India.

"In Aankhon ki masti se Mastanei hazaron hai"

For the intoxicating beauty of these eyes

There are thousands of admirers

But today there are admirers indeed but the reflection of a free spirit through those intoxicating eyes is no more!

The occupation which once was an imminent part of the elite hub of society, a profession where women had a say of their own has clearly deteriorated to the point where they don't have proper access to the basic necessities of living a healthy life and are often victims of crimes like human trafficking, one cannot eradicate the evils and empower these women in just a day, we have to go a long long way to succeed.