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Wednesday, January 28, 2026
TopicTawaifs

Topic: Tawaifs

Caste and kotha didn’t go together. It freed many lower caste girls

In 'Nautch Boy', Manish Gaekwad offers a memoir of his life, documenting his experiences as a queer child growing up in a kotha.

‘The Last Courtesan’ is a saga of guns, gangs, ghazals. Author didn’t want it to be a movie

Manish Gaekwad brought a lot of Hindi-Urdu words into the text. 'That’s how she spoke, and that’s the language of her story–why change it? Why interrupt a woman while she is talking?'

Haseenain-e-Lucknow—a photographic record of tawaifs and what it tells us about Awadh

The album was produced as a luxury item, with no more than a few copies, and suggests an aesthetic link to the Mughal 'muraqqa' tradition of illustrated albums.

Why’s Bollywood obsessed with Tawaifs? ‘Heeramandi’ brings back the stereotypes

According to Pakistani film critic Omer Adil, filmmakers of the subcontinent have created a fantasy chimaera, a celluloid courtesan, which has nothing to do with tawaifs.

‘Mujra, tawaif not bad words’—Classical dancer rescuing courtesan culture from British gaze

Manjari Chaturvedi is bringing tawaifs’ songs and performances to life through ‘The Courtesan Project’, which she launched in 2011 and discussed at IIC’s recent Music Appreciation Programme.

Tawaifs weren’t just into art and culture. Their role in Independence remains forgotten

When the British Raj encountered Tawaifs—women with agency and autonomy—they were confounded and threatened, unable to categorise this community within their social divisions.

On Camera

India-Pakistan ready for lehenga diplomacy. Maryam Sharif has made the first move

Sometimes, we end up embroidering the truth as we overthink and overanalyse a fastidious lady’s personal wardrobe preferences for significant occasions.

Most EU firms eye India expansion post-trade deal, 90% say profitability to go up—FEBI survey

FEBI survey reveals Europe’s big bet on manufacturing, innovation hub amid ‘mother of all trade deals’, but flags regulatory concerns.

India, EU sign security & defence pact. How it links Indian firms to ‘ReArm Europe’ network 

The agreement comes despite differences between India and the EU on issues such as Russia-Ukraine war, showcasing the intent to deepen strategic ties. 

Non-alignment is coming back in a new avatar: Trump-peedit alliance

No nation other than China can negotiate one-on-one with Trump on an equal footing. That’s why the middle powers who so far formed the core of multilateral bodies now feel orphaned.