JOIN USThe word ‘courtesan’ was redefined by Manjari Chaturvedi with her elegant gestures and spellbinding moves of Darbari form of Kathak, at the India International Centre, recently. Her ghungroo’s brought alive the tales of the courtesans, their life and style and their cultural pursuits.
The diffused light of the lamp created a romantic ambience, the green illumination – at times cascading on the green angarkha, symbolising the ornate royal court.
Chaturvedi lit up the evening with an incandescent performance of love, admiration, infatuation and separation. Her shringara rasa, the elaborate act of dressing up was stupefying.
Chaturvedi, 40, claims to be the sole practitioner of ‘Sufi kathak’, a form of
dance she created that blends the gestural storytelling of Indian kathak dance with the spinning meditation of Sufism. The event, ‘The Courtesan–An Enigma’, was based on the book Nautch Girls of India: Dancers, Singers, Playmates by Pran Nevile, one of the few documented evidences of the courtesan culture of medieval India.
“It is an initiative that combines the two extremes of traditional art and modern
technology in a unique amalgamation to make the youth and the masses aware of this dying art form,” Chaturvedi tells Metrolife.
Actor Neesha Singh narrated the anecdotes and stories from the life of the courtesan. She mesmerised the audience with her stunning voice and her style. Singh shed light upon pre-conceived notions about courtesans, often misconstructed, such as their sensibilities, disposition and ethos including the life and times of Gauhar Jaan who was born of Armenian parents, Chanda Bibi, Rasoolan Bai and Zarina Begum.
Caught in the mood of the moment, the audience started humming the song when Chaturvedi performed to dewana banana hai to deewana bana de warna kahin taqdeer tamasha na bana de.
Indeed, the 70-minute performance of Chaturvedi was sucessful in changing preconceived notions and rigid mindsets people generally have about courtesans.
One of the guests, Sushil Kiran candidly confessed to Metrolife, “For me a courtesan only meant a ‘prostitute’. Now I feel these courtesans had their stories and talents, which were remarkable.” More than the performance it was the story of the courtesan retold and appreciated.