By: Manushree Sarkar
The author is a second-year BA.LL. B Honours student at Jindal Global Law School. She can be reached at 23jgls-manushree@jgu.edu.in.
Image Source: Penguin Publishing Group
Introduction
The book Nautch Girls of the Raj revolves around the establishment of ‘Nautch’ as an Indian traditional institution of performing the art of dance and music from its inception as an offering to God, to its secularisation as a profession of entertainment, till its decline and complete exclusion from the Indian social milieu. The book refers to religious-historical texts to present dance and music as divine creations to explain the genesis of dancing and singing becoming intrinsically related to Indian cultural practices. Subsequently, it elucidates the various forms of the artistic institution initiated as an offering to God, referring to the Devdasis as temple dancers, to the evolution of Kathak with the rise of the Mughal Empire and its secularisation as a profession of entertaining the royalty and subsequently the officials of the British Raj. The book cites various references from the 18th and 19th centuries, of popular Devdasis, Tawaif’s, and other Nautch (anglicized term of Nach) artists, and the impact of their performance on their audience and patrons (Nevile). Thus, the timeline of this book extends from time immemorial till the early 20th century when the “Anti-nautch” movement demolished the Nautch institution.
Critical Analysis
The author makes two central arguments throughout the book. Firstly, the author argues that the ‘Nautch’ institution and its affiliated Nautch girls were respectable figures in 18th and 19th-century Indian society, acknowledged for their talent, glamour, skills, knowledge of the performing artistry of dance and music alongside their wit and beauty and its associated sex work was not immoral or derogatory to the women’s dignity, but rather led them to acquire enormous economic wealth, social status and political influence. Secondly, the ‘Nautch’ institution was wrongly banned based on the stigmatisation of sex work and sexual desires along with the changing social, economic, and political nature influenced greatly by the British ideals of propriety and morality leading to the significant loss of Indian cultural heritage of the performing arts of dance and music (Nevile). However, these arguments disregard the inherent commodification of women as sexual and entertainment slaves, their constant dependency on their male patrons for their living conditions and leading them to a cycle of perpetual generational sexual slavery and entertainment commodity with this profession being passed on from mothers to daughters. This book review will provide a critique on these lines while agreeing with certain aspects of the authors arguments.
Firstly, this book is a euphemism for the commodification of women from the historical divine inception of Apsaras as celestial nymphs as objects of enjoyment for God. Then the Devadasis, donated by parents to temples with an undertone of male child preference, their secularisation leading to court dancers rising in the Mughal period and subsequently becoming Nautch girls of the Raj, all being unmarriageable and whose bodies are objectified with their commonly described voluptuous bodies in narratives of praises by colonial officers and Nawabs. Their talent and bodies were constantly being bought, sold, gifted, and given as dowry by the nobility treating them as propertied slaves.
Secondly, the question of choice or necessity is evaded as the Nautch profession becomes hereditary forced lineage for income, as no security of status and livelihood was assigned to them as they were mistresses and courtesans devoid of any legitimacy awarded to married queens. Their children were considered illegitimate generally and had no claim over their paternal wealth which encouraged girls to take up their mother’s profession and male children subjugated over by legitimate heirs. The book also evades the question; if the Nautch girls were dignified with high social status and religious significance, why were they deemed unsuitable for marriage by their patrons who enjoyed their services as courtesans? This bound them in an ever-dependent relationship of loyalty to their disloyal patrons.
Lastly, the book being written on ‘Nautch’ girls lack their perspectives and voices about the experiences in the profession and therefore lacks proper representation. Though, it presents through eloquent description the enchantment of the audiences by the graceful body movements and expression of the trained professional dancers articulated by the spectators consisting of the Indian royalty, British officials, foreign travellers, or European women. This proves the top-down approach in this historical account which could have focussed more on accounts and narratives of the Nautch girls which would have been the wholesome representation of this declined profession.
The Pictorial Representation: 'Heeramandi'
The recent Netflix Series Heermandi showcased the Nautch profession proving the perpetual generational sex slavery, lack of choice and dignity to the Nautch girls and their being treated as propertied slaves and all other vices of this supposed entertainment institution as mentioned above. This show through the character Waheedajaan, who has a scar over her face, clearly portrays the importance given to external beauty over the artistic talents of the Nautch girls (Bhansali, Heeramandi). Hence, the Nautch girls attracted patrons not only for their artistic acclaimed music and dance but also for the Nawabs and other patrons to treat them as mistresses and sex slaves.
The animosity among female blood relatives over getting Patrons to maintain their dignity among their fellow professional artists as in the Shahi Mahal is observed through this series. The various examples of this are the continuous fight between Mallikajaan and Waheedajaan over property, the constant inferiority complex faced by Waheedajaan over her daughter Shama’s beauty and talent to attract her mother’s patrons and finally the fight over accession of the title Huzoor of the Shahi Mahal and the politics behind it.
Secondly, the sale of Saima, a helper of the Mahal to two men, to ensure that she did not challenge the lesser talented but own- daughter, Alamzeb, of the Huzoor Mallikajaan portrays the appalling condition of talented but poor women in this institution (Bhansali, Heeramandi). Thus, this institution gravely pitted women against their blood relatives or the Queens or wives of Nawabs festering familial relationships on one hand and destroying the support expected from a woman for women on the other.
Decline of the Institution
The enormous impact of colonial knowledge creation and civilising mission on the Indian mentality, which was not entirely suitable to the Indian setting, led to the loss of the important cultural heritage of dance and music of the Nautch institution. Suddenly, with the ease of travel for European Memsahibs to India which enabled officials to engage in Western cultural entertainment, the Nautch girls who gratified their sexual and entertainment desires became impure and prostitutes. Additionally, the stigmatisation of sex work and the professional entertainment institute of Nautch as prostitution negatively impacted the livelihood of numerous women who had dedicated their lives to the profession (Nevile). The orientalist mindset of Christian missionaries that othered the social customs and cultures of Indian traditions considering the Western cultures superior which was imparted to social reformers through Western education furthered this. The glamourous dressing style and heavy jewellery of the Nautch artists mystified them and furthered the oriental image of the East produced by the West (Said).
Impact
This book by pointing out this discrepancy in the conception of Nautch plays an important role in destigmatising sex as a negative concept inherently associated with shame and promoting the need for sex education in the present curriculum of students based on decolonising the understanding based on traditional regard given to sexual desire and its gratification as divine presented openly in Sanskrit literature, temple engravings, etc.
This book contributes to writing about the domestic sphere beyond the political and military sphere predominated by patriarchal narratives of historical men that ignore the contribution and presence of women in history confined to the private sphere. This common historical practice of ignorance of women can be proved by the seclusion of women in Harems and the erasure of women’s names in accounts maintained by the Mughal Rulers, with Akbar ordering the anonymity and invisibility of royal women in court records which are an important source of History (Lal).
Conclusion
To conclude, the book is a creditable attempt to engage with women in history and destigmatise the Nautch profession and its affiliated people. However, it leaves paradoxes of women’s social dignity and respectability unanswered and lacks representation of the main characters of the content the Nautch girls. This book also suffers from a colonial perspective an extent to which it distorts reality and presents History as a cherry-picked version prompting the readers to engage with the text critically and mull over the reality of the institution and the status of Nauth Girls.
References
Heeramandi, by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Netflix, 2024)
Lal, Ruby. Empress The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan. Penguin Books, 2018.
Nevile, Pran. Nautch Girls of The Raj. Penguin Books, 2009.
Said, Edward W. Orientalism Western Conception of the Orient. Vintage Books, 2003.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author (s). They do not reflect the views or opinions of Diplomania or its members.
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