Review: The Irresistible World of Tawaifs: History, Imagination, and a Web of Stories Tawaifnama, by Saba Dewan

Abstract

Book Review| June 01 2021 Review: The Irresistible World of Tawaifs: History, Imagination, and a Web of Stories Tawaifnama, by Saba Dewan Tawaifnama, by Saba Dewan. New Delhi: Westland Publications, 2019. 600 pages. $29.53 cloth. $16.49 paperback. $8.49 ebook. Shohini Ghosh Shohini Ghosh Shohini Ghosh is Professor in the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia Central University. Correspondence to: Shohini Ghosh, AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia Central University, Jamia Nagar, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Marg, New Delhi 110025, India. Email: sghosh1@jmi.ac.in. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Departures in Critical Qualitative Research (2021) 10 (2): 101–106. https://doi.org/10.1525/dcqr.2021.10.2.101 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Shohini Ghosh; Review: The Irresistible World of Tawaifs: History, Imagination, and a Web of Stories Tawaifnama, by Saba Dewan. Departures in Critical Qualitative Research 1 June 2021; 10 (2): 101–106. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/dcqr.2021.10.2.101 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentDepartures in Critical Qualitative Research Search Tawaifnama, by documentary filmmaker Saba Dewan, is an intricately woven web of stories about tawaifs (courtesans), the elite professional performers and entertainers who were custodians of Hindustani classical music and dance. An influential cultural force until the middle of the 20th century, tawaifs enjoyed considerable stature, wealth, and property, as well as the support of wealthy patrons. Trained in music, dance, languages, and the erotic arts, tawaifs were also the lovers of their patrons. The unusual sexual lives of tawaifs made them outliers who were placed firmly on the margins of “respectable” society. While tawaifs often bore the children of their wealthy patrons, thereby becoming an extension of their families, they were denied the legitimacy and social standing that the wives and their children enjoyed. On the other hand, the tawaif was an influential figure in the life of the patron, and when she bore his children, she had... You do not currently have access to this content.