American director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his huge- budget Bollywood production, featuring great sets, star casts, properly choreographed dance sequences and beautiful costumes, jewellery and furnishings. His new line for Netflix, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, lives up to these objectives.
Against this aesthetically rich scenery emerge the plotting, menacing and violent courtesans of Heeramandi.
The collection is set in Heeramandi, a historic red- gentle district of Lahore in existing- day Pakistan. It takes place in the midst of the British-led American freedom challenge.
The present is an interaction of story lines – a death investigation, a battle of succession, a budding enjoy story and a courtesan’s key involvement in a rebellion against English rule.
Ultimately, all characters and stories converge around the main concept of anti- colonial nationalism. The concubines call themselves “patriots” and willingly sacrifice their lives and careers for the state because of patriotic zeal.
But who were the true courtiers?
Role designs for women freedom
By altering the historical courtiers ‘ lives and timelines, the present makes some creative liberties.
The North Indian tawa’ifs ( courtesans ), or nautch– girls ( dancing girls, as the British called them ), were cultural idols, female intellectuals and entrepreneurs.
Dating back to ancient India, these people were trained in song, dancing, fashion, literature, banter, politeness, language and books from a younger age. Courtesans generally pass their expert knowledge and abilities down to savvy household daughters following a program of matrilineal inheritance.
Once trained, courtiers attracted sponsorship from royal courts, royal aristocrats and imperial officers.
This particular class enjoyed advantages over most female members of American society, including education and private income. They led beautiful habits, wielded power and wealth and paid fees.
As independent experts, they contributed to Indian arts and culture, travelled thoroughly, made connections with chosen family and generally embraced female flexibility.
Their financial, political, and sexual freedom challenged patriarchal gender stereotypes and strict Hindu moral standards that predominated over women from upper-middle-class families.
Complicated relationships
In Heeramandi, the courtesans turn patriotic in order to punish British police officers who brutally raped and murdered the locals. While these actions are dramatic, the historical relationships among courtesans, the British empire and Indian nationalism were more complex.
The politically engaged Bibbojaan ( Aditi Rao Hydari), who allegedly financially supported the 1857 mutiny against the British East India Company, is similar to Azizan Bai, a courtesan from Kanpur.
While the 19th century’s most pervasive anti-colonial revolts included the mutiny, Indian nationalism was not its main goal; it was merely a result. Azizan’s main concern was maintaining her support of her social and economic well-being among the native rulers.
Following the transition to the Crown, which relinquished the East India Company’s authority in India, promoting British rule alongside Western morality and Victorian education. Nationalist leaders valued chastity in women and envisioned a country as a pure land of sacred Hindu ancestors.
The courtesans ‘ sexual freedom and the ideals of imperialism and nationalism clashed.
Hindu reformers and bourgeois nationalists organized anti-nautch campaigns in the 1890s to “rescue” Hindu culture from perceived immorality, along with Christian missionaries. The courtesan class was ultimately defeated as a result.
In Heeramandi, patronage diminishes and the women’s dreams of marriage fade. The courtesans sacrifice their lives for the country by closing their salons, sacrificing their jobs, and giving up their professions.
In response to declining patronage and social stigma, historical courtesans were quick to resurrect themselves.
They turned to the power of modern technology. Gauhar Jaan, a famous courtesan, became a celebrated concert singer and gramophone artist, earning the title of” India’s Melba” in the international press.
Gandhi requested Gauhar Jaan perform for the Swaraj Fund in 1921. She agreed to pay a fee for Gandhi to attend her performance in light of the ambiguous position courtesans held in nationalist discourse. Gandhi refunded the cause with only half of the raised sum when she did not arrive.
Through their artistry, star power, and financial support, Courtesans significantly contributed to the establishment of the Indian film industry. The first generation of female film stars came from courtesan backgrounds: Jaddan Bai, Kajjan Bai, Akhtaribai Faizabadi and Naseem Banu entered the industry as actors, singers, composers, directors and studio owners.
Later, some acted as managers and costume designers for their daughters, the emerging actors of the next generation.
By becoming modern- day artists, the courtesans preserved their art. In a society where women’s cultural contributions were being diminished and their place as citizens in an emerging country were becoming less and less important, they remained visible and relevant.
Patriarchal nationalism
In the show, a woman’s value is judged by her respectability, marital status and the presence of a male guardian controlling her sexuality. Courtesans refer to themselves as “birds in gilded cages” and yearn for freedom from their courtesan lifestyle.
Here, the courtesans ‘ nationalism resonates with present- day far- right Hindu nationalists, seemingly promising women empowerment in nationalism but, in reality, reserving only regressive roles for women.
Heeramandi oversimplifies the tawa’ifs’ multilayered persona. They are depicted in the television series as melancholy victims who long for patriarchal married bliss while remaining marginalized in respectable society. But these women should be remembered as celebrated figures filled with joie- de- vivre, gusto and spiritedness.
They should be commended for transforming resilience into a way of life through their self-representational and self-determination strategies.
The University of Otago’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences has a teaching assistant named Radhika Raghav.
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