The centuries-old history of lavani has traversed through a complex terrain of gender and caste. While the lesser-known tradition of Sangeet Bari characterised by its intimate baithak style has always had women performers, the more popular Tamaasha style only had male performers up until the 1880s, who dressed up as women characters. The reason mirrored the patriarchal notions of the time that looked down upon women in the entertainment profession.

"Things began to change when two women, Pawala Bai and Baya Bai, from the so-called untouchable communities of the time, began to perform lavani. With more women joining in, the number of male performers dwindled away," informs Bhushan Korgaonkar, who wrote the book, Sangeet Bari, in 2014. This Friday, Korgaonkar's Sangeet Bari production directed by filmmaker Savitri Medhatul, will not only combine multiple narratives such as the lavani woman, musicians, the customer and researcher but also celebrate the Pride month with a performance.