Dangerous Women: The Contribution of Mah Laqa Bai and Tawaifs to Urdu Cultural Heritage
This week in Daak:
Thrilled to kick off a new series by our Reading Intern, Amun Chaudhary, who has been reading and curating the works of female Urdu writers. Focusing on the contribution of women in developing and evolving the Urdu tradition, this week’s newsletter explores the original cultural reformers — tawaifs.
Also, if you’re suffering from writer’s block, we have a beautiful new notebook full of words and poetry from our favourites.
Finally, check out this week’s Daak Recommends for some rare delights!
1. Dangerous Women: The contribution of Mah Laqa Bai and Tawaifs to Urdu Cultural Heritage
Throughout time, ‘honourable’ women have subscribed to the role that society set apart for them; they have kept homes, wed husbands and in many ways, maintained the status quo. All the while, tawaifs (courtesans) lived in a parallel world, refining artistic traditions, devoting themselves to education and creating legacies for centuries to come. While associations with promiscuity will always place them in the danger-zone, in reality tawaifs were often the most multi-faceted women in society. In many communities, they were the only women to – quite literally – occupy space in the public world, paving the way for women today. In fact, revolutionary writers like Parveen Shakir and Ismat Chughtai have built on the work and backs of the tawaifs, both in claiming space and words, and using the literary traditions developed by them.
Mah Laqa Bai, born as Chanda Bai is remembered as Hyderabad’s most famous and esteemed poet from the 18th century. An influential tawaif of the Deccan, Mah Laqa is an important example of the potential and power of a woman of her background. Not only is she the first female poet to have a diwan of her work — an anthology of Urdu Ghazals named Gulzar-e-Mahlaqa published posthumously — she is also said to have been consulted on matters such as policy and diplomacy.
Mah Laqa was the adopted daughter of one of the Nizam of Hyderabad’s favourite courtesans, who made sure that she received a comprehensive education from the best teachers. She grew up to be an esteemed artist, thinker and even warrior. Known to be the only publicly recognised woman in Hyderabad, Mah Laqa Bai represents the multiplicity of womanhood that modern day feminism attempts to uphold.
At a time when women’s opportunities were limited, Mah Laqa was shaping the subcontinent’s culture in significant ways. She was an accomplished poet, Kathak dancer and classical singer, establishing schools for girls to learn the same skills. Refining the Urdu tradition, Mah Laqa’s poetry is known for its floral and romantic imagery, making terms like gul and bulbul common in Urdu poetry. Below is an example of Mah Laqa Bai’s writing:
گل کے ہونے کی توقع پہ جئے بیٹھی ہے ہر کلی جان کو مٹھی میں لیے بیٹھی ہے کبھی صیاد کا کھٹکا ہے کبھی خوف خزاں بلبل اب جان ہتھیلی پہ لیے بیٹھی ہے تیر و شمشیر سے بڑھ کر ہے تری ترچھی نگاہ سیکڑوں عاشقوں کا خون کیے بیٹھی ہے تیرے رخسار سے تشبیہ اسے دوں کیوں کر شمع تو چربی کو آنکھوں میں دیئے بیٹھی ہے تشنہ لب کیوں رہے اے ساقیٔ کوثر چنداؔ Hoping to blossom (one day) into a flower, Every bud sits, holding its soul in its fist. Between the fear of the fowler and (approaching) autumn, The bulbul’s life hangs by a thread. Thy sly glance is more murderous than arrow or sword; It has shed the blood of many lover. How can I like a candle to thy (glowing) cheek? The candle is blind with the fat in its eyes. How can Chanda be dry-lipped. O Saqi of the heavenly wine! She has drained the cup of thy love (Translation by Syed Sirajuddin)
The Urdu and Hindi speaking world and lovers of ghazals and poetry owe their pleasure to invisible women like Mah Laqa who provided a platform for art in elevated forms; they hosted cultural salons, spent hours doing riyaaz, mastered and pioneered taals, poured their emotions into raags, and dared to centre their own narrative and experiences in their writing .
These women embodied the poetic world that we often escape to through music, cinema and poetry. Popular period films like Mughal-e-azam, or Bajirao Mastani touch on the glory of the time and some of the women’s experiences. However, although Mah Laqa Bai is uniquely known in Hyderabad, like other tawaifs, she is remembered only as an idea rather than an individual, leaving us naive to the achievements and talents of her and many other women before, after and around her.
Keepers of tradition, of music and of metre – women have been upholding these worlds on their backs for years, and tawaifs hold the heaviest weight.
By Amun Chaudhary
2. Suffering From a Writer’s Block?
Unblock your creativity and get inspired to pen your thoughts in our new Writer’s Notebook. This notebook combines old world charm with the words and poetry of our favourite poets and writers!
3. Daak Recommends
Watch this lovely interview with Ismat Chughtai — it’s a masterclass in simplicity, joy, humour and sheer the sheer audacity of self-expression!
Also, check out this virtual curation of Nandalal Bose’s Haripura Panels which were commissioned by Mahatama Gandhi to decorate the pandal for the Congress session at Haripura.
It was a great article.. thank you! 🌻