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The Nautch Girl
by
Ally Adnan
"They are extremely delicate in their person, soft and
regular in their features, with a form of perfect symmetry,
and although dedicated from infancy to this profession,
they in general preserve a decency and modesty in their
demeanor, which is more likely to allure than the
shameless effrontery of similar characters in other
countries."
James Forbes (1749–1819)
Oriental Memoirs (1813)
A lot has been written, and said, about the Indian Nautch Girl. Hundreds of
thousands of pages have been written to describe the beauty of the nautch
girl. She has featured prominently in books of history, novels, short stories,
paintings, photographs, memoirs and travelogues. Yet, little has been said
about her unique and distinct identity amongst the women whose primary
occupation is to indulge, entertain and woo men.
A nautch girl is not a Domni (‫)ڈومنی‬, Kasbi (‫)کسبی‬, Randi (‫)رنڈی‬, Tawaif
(‫)طوائف‬, Kanjari (‫)کنجری‬, Nochi (‫ )نوچی‬or Devdasi (‫ ;)دیو داسی‬she belongs to
her own distinctive class.
A domni makes her living by singing for both men and women, and belongs
to a family of singers that has been in the profession for several
generations. A kasbi is a prostitute belonging to a family where women
have practiced the sex trade for generations. A randi is also a prostitute but
one that does not belong to a family of sex workers. The kasbi is considered
to be of a higher class than the randi. The tawaif, or more correctly a
gharanedar tawaaif (‫)گهرانے دار طوائف‬, belongs to a family of the highest
class of courtesans. She caters, almost exclusively, to nobility, senior
officers of the Raj, and the elite. The tawaif is a master in several arts singing, dancing, acting, poetry, literature and cooking. She is erudite, wellread, often multi-lingual, and an authority on decorum and etiquette. A
kanjari is a lower class tawaif with little to no education and no formal
training in the arts. She does not come from a family of respected tawaaifs
and, therefore, does not command the respect accorded to gharanedar
courtesans. Her clients are the nouveaux riche and men from castes that
include shaikhs (tradesman), gujjar (herdsmen), jats (landowners) and
qazis (officers and bureaucrats).The word tawaaif has clout and commands
respect whereas kanjari is used mostly as a derogatory term. A nochi is a
young girl under the training of a tawaaif. She is expected to be a virgin. A
devdasi devotes her entire life to the worship and service of an idol, deity
or temple. She is not allowed to marry and is almost always subjected to
sexual abuse.
The nautch girl is different.
A nautch girl is primarily a dancer and entertains men, women and
children, in their homes, in public places, on stage and in various other
settings. The word nautch is the anglicized version of the Urdu and Hindi
word for dance – Naach (‫ ;)ناچ‬a nautch girl is one who dances to make a
living.
Nautch girls were a prominent part of Indian life and
culture during the second half of the nineteenth and
the first half of the twentieth century. Nautch girls
danced for a variety of people that included women
and children in addition to men, of virtually all social
classes. They performed in Mughal courts, the
palaces of nawabs, the mahals (castles) of rajas, the
bungalows of officers of the British Raj, the homes
of nobles, the havelis (mansions) of zamindars
(landowners) and many other places.
They were invited to perform at
parties,
weddings,
christenings,
religious ceremonies, and many other
social occasions. Nautch girls did not
need an invitation to perform at
religious festivals. They would show up
to perform at the homes of their
wealthier patrons who were obliged to
pay them. While travelling from one
city to another, they would often hold
impromptu dance performances on
roads, streets and thoroughfares to
entertain the masses, make some money and secure free room and board.
Nautch girls served the entire spectrum of people in India, across all
regions, social classes, castes and religions.
Nautch girls performed as a part of small troupes known as the nautch
parties. A typical nautch party consisted of ten (10) to twelve (12) people
but could be as small as one with just two (2) people. The party always had
one (1) or two (2) dancers and usually a singer. Their husband usually
worked as musicians in the troupe. The nautch party musicians played four
(4) instruments – sarangi, tabla, manjeera and dholak, historically. A fifth
instrument – the harmonium – was introduced to nautch, primarily in
Kashmir and Punjab, at the start of the twentieth century. Well-known and
famous nautch girls, however, looked down upon the harmonium and
continued to use the sarangi. An experienced maidservant, the mama
(‫)ماما‬, was always a part of the nautch party. The mama was responsible for
taking care of the female performers, arranging meals, and the safekeeping
of the jewelry worn by the nautch girls. An unarmed guard, the muhafiz
(‫)محافظ‬, was an important member of the nautch party given the turbulent
times and political upheavals of nineteenth and twentieth century India.
His job was to protect all members and possessions of the nautch party.
Nautch parties that performed during the night also had one (1), or two (2),
mashalchis (‫)مشعلچی‬, or lamp bearers, in the troupe.
"The tent was most glaringly lighted, massaulchis or torchbearers stood here and there ready to attend to any person
who might require them...we had scarcely seated ourselves
ere two of them made their appearance, floating into our
presence, all tinsel colored muslin and ornaments: they
were followed by three musicians, and attended by a
couple of mussaulchis who held their torches first to the
face and then lower down as if showing off the charms of
the dancers to the best advantage."
Lieutenant Thomas Bacon
Description of Late Evening Nautch
The dances performed by the nautch girls were
simple. They did not follow any one classical style
but borrowed liberally from three (3) dances –
kathak, dasi attam and folk. The kathak of early
nineteenth century was simple. The repertoire of
toras and tukras was limited, and primary focus was
on story telling. Kathak had not yet been
transformed into an elaborate school of dance by
Bindadin Maharaj (‫ )بندا دین مہاراج‬and Kalka Prasad
Maharaj (‫)کالکا پراساد مہاراج‬. The dance was
aesthetically pleasing and elegant but not intricate and complex. Dasi
Attam, the primitive form of Bharat Natyam, was more complex but lent
itself easily to use in the popular dance of nautch girls. Folk dances added
a charming and local flavor to the nautch. It was up to the nautch girls to
masterfully incorporate elements of all three (3) styles of dance into their
performances. The talent of nautch girls was defined by skill, technique and
intelligence they used to create complete, well-choreographed and distinct
items for their repertoires.
The mor ka nach (dance of the peacock), patang nach (the kite dance) and
the qahar ka nach (the bearer’s dance) were considered essential items in
every nautch girl’s repertoire.
In the mor ka nach, the dancer played the role of a peacock trying to attract
peahens. An intensely erotic dance, it was performed only for male
audiences. Key features of the dance were short hops followed by breezy
pirouettes where the dancer spreads her ghagra (‫)گهاگرا‬, or long skirt, to
represent the spread fathers of the peacock. The ghagra was made in
iridescent peacock color and sometimes adorned with actual peacock
feathers. In real life, peahens pick their mates based on color, feather
quality and size. Similarly, the quality of the dance was judged on the basis
of the quality of the ghagra, the grace of the dancer and the extent to
which she could increase her size by spreading the ghagra. Elements of
eroticism were added to the dance by the suggestive use of the dancer’s
bosom, carefully studied displays of legs when spreading the ghagra, and
a provocative locking of the eyes with the audience.
In the patang nach, the dancer imitated both the kite and the person who
flew the kite. The nautch girl danced to depict the graceful ascent of the
kite, the tussle of the kite when engaged with another, and its slow descent
after the dor (‫)ڈور‬, or string, had been cut. The gestures, energy and
emotions of the kite flyer were mimicked in the dance. The patang nach
was performed at slow tempo, emphasizing grace, elegance and poise. The
dance was sometimes performed by a duo of dancers, where one played
the role of the kite and the other represented the person flying the kite.
The qahar ka nach was performed only for men and, though more subtle
than the mor ka nach, was decidedly erotic in nature. The dancer used silk
sashes, the ghagra and her own long tresses as props while she performed
the exaggerated and animated moves that characterized the qahar ka
nach. The dance was performed in close proximity of the audience. The
nautch girl teased a favored few amongst the audience by slowly advancing
towards them, in a manner suggestive of an imminent kiss, and retreating
at the last moment. The dance was usually the finale of a nautch
performance.
Nautch girls used the lighter genres of classical music – thumri, dadra,
ghazal and geet – in their performances. In courts, palaces, bungalows and
the homes of the rich and the privileged, musicians would always play their
instruments while standing. In public performances, and in more austere
settings, they sat down on the floor to perform. The muhafiz stood to one
side and kept an eye on everyone present during the performance. Mamas
sat in a corner of the dais, sometimes preparing paan (betel nut) and beeri
(Indian cigarettes). Mashalchis stood at the back holding torches.
“[A nautch performance] is superior to all the operas in the
world.”
Captain Marpeet
Nautch girls were photographed extensively in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. Three (3) factors contributed to the popularity of
photographing nautch girls. The first was the ever-increasing popularity of
the camera which was introduced in India
around 1840. The second was the desire to
record the vast diversity of Indian people
along with their clothing, vocations,
manners, crafts, customs, practices, and
religions. Nautch girls were an ideal subject
for photographers wishing to document
Indian culture. They were beautiful, native,
willing to be photographed and
represented a unique slice of the country’s
culture. The third factor was a nautch girl’s
need to have good photographs that they
could send to prospective clients. The quality of the photograph was
directly tied to the price a nautch girl commanded. Great efforts were
made to take flattering photographs of nautch girls in studios. Nicholas &
Curths, Hooper and Western, Charles Shepherd, Samuel Bourne, and
Francis Frith were the photographers of choice for nautch girls who could
afford to pay their relatively high fees. The best photographs were set in
wood frames that were decorated with marquetry, ivory, brass and
intricate carving. The frames were wrapped in chenille fabric for
safekeeping. They were carried to the homes of prospects by the muhafizes
who initiated commercial discussions related to nautch performances. The
photographs were not used for display and decoration.
Nothing can exceed the transcendent beauty, both in form
and lineament, of [the nautch girls].
William Daniell & Hobart Caunter
Scenes in India (1835)
The talents of Indian nautch girls were not limited to dancing and
entertaining. They had highly developed cultural, social and political
sensibilities and, often, an untamed desire for power and Influence.
Udham Bai (‫ )اُدهم بائی‬was a Hindu nautch girl who rose to a position of great
power in Mughal India. Emperor Muhammad Shah (‫ )محمد شاه‬took fancy to
the Hindu dancing girl when she first appeared in his court as an
entertainer. Soon thereafter, he took her as his third wife. Muhammad
Shah appointed her to the high ranking position of mansabdar (‫)منصب دار‬
in his army and gave her tremendous power and authority in the affairs of
the government. She held her son, Ahmad Shah Bahadur (‫)احمد شاه بہادر‬,
under an inordinate amount of control. When Ahmad Shah succeeded his
father as the emperor, Qudsia Begum (‫)قدسیہ بیگم‬, as she had come to be
known, became the de facto ruler of the empire.
Bibi Mah Ratan Mubarakunissa Begum (‫)بی بی ماه رتن مُبارک اُلنِسا بیگم‬, the
thirteenth, and most favored, wife of the first British Resident in Delhi,
Major General Sir David Octherlony, was a Brahmin nautch girl in Poona.
After converting to Islam and marrying Octherlony, she became one of the
most powerful women in Delhi. The Major General was in tremendous awe
of his significantly younger Muslim wife and considered raising the two (2)
daughters she bore him as Muslims. She commanded the respect of the
writers and poets of the times and maintained close personal friendships
with Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (‫ )مرزا اسد ہللا خان غ ؔالب‬and Shaikh
Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq (‫)شیخ محمد ابراہیم ؔذوق‬. Mirza Farhatullah Baig ( ‫مرزا‬
‫ )فرحت ہللا بیگ‬set his fictional account of the last mushaira (soiree of poetry)
in Delhi, Dilli Ki Akhri Shama (‫ )دلی کی آخری شمع‬at Mubarak Begum’s home.
Mubarak Begum was said to be the real master of the residency and came
to be known as Jarnaili Begum (‫ )جرنیلی بیگم‬due to the influence and power
she wielded. An observer remarked that "making Sir David the
Commissioner of Delhi was the same as making Jarnaili Begum."
Farzana Zebunissa ( ‫فرزانہ‬
‫ )زیب النساء‬was an
eighteenth
century
Muslim nautch girl who
rose to become the ruler
of the small principality
of Sardhana (‫)سردهانہ‬
near Meerut (‫)میرٹه‬. At a
young age, Zebunissa
converted
to
Christianity, married the
European
adventurer
and mercenary, Walter
Reinhardt Sombre, and
took the name of Joanna
Nobilis Sombre. People
referred to her as Begum
Sumru, a distortion of
her husband’s last name.
Begum Sumru was the head of a professionally trained mercenary army
that she inherited from her husband and became the only Catholic Ruler in
India when she ruled Sardhana. The Begum died enormously rich. Her
inheritance continues to be disputed to this day.
The popularity of the nautch was at its peak in the 1860s; a natural
consequence of the popularity was the emergence of detractors of the art
form. Christian missionaries started arriving in India after the opening of
the Suez Canal in 1869. The missionaries appointed themselves as
guardians of Indian morality and opposed the performance of nautch,
among many other things, with a vicious hatred and with venom. The
dance was labeled anti-Christian, immoral and repugnant. Officers of the
British Raj, who had, heretofore, been patrons of nautch girls were asked
to not attend nautch performances. A number of social reformers joined
hands with the missionaries and launched a nationwide campaign against
the nautch from Madras. The campaign was destined to succeed but for
the deep fondness and love the Punjabis had for nautch. Over a period of
more than one hundred (100) years, the dance had become an integral part
of Punjabi life. It was not easy to extract it from the fabric of Punjabi culture
and custom. Punjabis enjoyed organizing nautch performances for their
friends, for the sahibs and for their families. No joyous occasion in Punjab
was complete without a nautch performance. Nautch girls danced both
publicly and in private all over the region, and were granted status and
respect. Nautch girls were not known for engaging in the sex trade. Punjabi
women were willing to sanction the association of their men with nautch
girls. This was not the case with tawaaifs and randis. The nautch was
destined to survive and thrive in Punjab as well as in several other regions
of the country. Campaigns against the nautch, for all the zeal and hate that
fuelled them, fizzled out after a few years.
And the nautch continued to gain popularity all over India.
Ally Adnan lives in Dallas, Texas, where he works in the field of mobile
telecommunications and writes about culture and art. He can be reached
at allyadnan@outlook.com.