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.