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In La
Déesse Noire: The Black Goddess, Mayuri Falodiya, brothel-keeper and
trainer of Indian mistresses to be placed with noblemen, tells the heroine,
Kali Matai, “Dancing in a kotha in
India, you would command the influence of the most powerful rajahs [1] and nabobs [2] and firangis. [3]”
Indeed, the history of the Indian tawaif, a female caste of courtesans to
the nobility, is much more exalted than the life Kali leads in Regency London,
even as the renowned dancer and courtesan, La
Déesse Noire. Had she been born under slightly different circumstances, and
had she remained in India, she might have graced the rooms of a rajah or maharajah [4].
Prior to the military invasion of India, a tawaif was a respected member of Mughal
society, albeit one who might be found in the beds of the highest of the
nobility, the most important political leaders, and the wealthiest of the elite.
With a lengthy tradition of sacred mythology involving courtesans, including a
firm place in the panoply, it is not surprising that such women were glorified
and exalted, given a prominent place in the harems of India’s royalty and
nobility.
Much like the Japanese geisha, tawaifs were
known for their contributions to the cultural traditions of music, dance,
theatre, and literature, as well as for their knowledge of and emphasis on the
finer points of etiquette and protocol. In fact, young nobles—nawabs—were often trained in etiquette by
tawaifs, at the same time learning an
appreciation of their civilization’s literature, art, and music.
The traditional Indian kotha, then, was not the equivalent of a brothel (as it is when fictionally
set in the middle of Regency London), but rather a mansion—it might even be
referred to as a palace—where tawaifs
resided under their own control without the oversight of any male member of
society, which was not common practice among most women of the time and place.
In La
Déesse Noire, the Masala Rajah Gentleman’s Retreat housed a one-room kotha of sorts (rather than the kotha housing the residents). In this
case, it was only part of the bordello, an area where relatively chaste
entertainments might be indulged either before, after, or by contrast to, more
salacious back rooms where the bulk of Mayuri’s profits were made. In London,
Indian women were not exalted, and even a former royal courtesan like Mayuri
Falodiya must still make ends meet.
As the British gained power in India, a
systematic campaign was waged to denigrate the local and regional power
structure. The nobility was portrayed as corrupt and dissolute—the men
effeminate and debauched; the women immoral and licentious. Since tawaifs were an integral part of the cultural
and political elite, and so part of the trouble being caused for the British
Empire, propaganda equated kothas with
brothels and tawaifs with
prostitutes.
After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the
British military took possession of most of the kothas, and the land on which they stood, which had been owned by tawaifs. Subsequently, the British impressed
many of the women into service as prostitutes for their garrisons. This
effectively separated the sexual components of their lives from the historical
and cultural significance of their caste. Slowly, their well-deserved
reputation as educated, gifted singers, dancers, and poets was denigrated to
the standing of mere prostitutes. Thus, they lost influence, status, power—and
the respect due their contributions to the culture of the Mughal Empire.
[1] Kings
[2] From Mayuri’s perspective, Indian
governors or officials, not a European returned from India with a fortune
(because she left India before the majority of such officials were British).
[3] Foreigners (the aforementioned
Europeans)
[4] Emperor
References
Courtney, David. The Tawaif, the Anti-Nautch Movement, and the Development of North
Indian Classical Music. Music of India. 13 April 2014. Web. 14 Nov 2014
<http://chandrakantha.com/articles/tawaif/>
Haynes, Douglas and Gyan Prakash (eds.).
Contesting Power: Resistance and Everyday
Social Relations in South Asia. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of
California Press, 1991.
Jaishankar, K. and Debarati Haldar. “Prostitution
in India: Issues and Trends.” ERCES
Online Quarterly Review, 3.2 (2006). Web. 14 Nov 2014. <http://www.erces.com/journal/articles/archives/volume3/v02/v03.htm>
Vajpeyi, Yogesh. “Fall of a culture.” Tribune India 20 September 2009. Web. 14 Nov 2014 <http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090920/spectrum/main2.htm>
When those she holds most
dear are placed in peril by backroom political dealings, she enlists some of
the most formidable lords in England to thwart her enemies. But even with the
help of the prominent gentlemen she has captivated, securing Kali’s freedom,
her family, and the man she loves, will require her protectors stop at nothing
to fulfill her desires.
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About the Author
Mariana
Gabrielle is a pseudonym of Mari Christie, a professional writer, editor, and
designer with almost twenty-five years’ experience. Published in dozens of
nonfiction and poetry periodicals since 1989, she began writing mainstream
historical fiction in 2009 and Regency romance in 2013. She is a member of the
Bluestocking Belles, the Writing Wenches, and the Rocky Mountain Fiction
Writers. Her first Regency romance, Royal Regard, was released in November
2014.
To
connect with Mariana Gabrielle:
Written content of this post copyright © Mari Christie, 2015. Graphics collected and digitized by Steve Browne and John Verkleir.
