Tareekh ~e~ Tawaif

Udham Bai a dancing girl… who would go on to become the Empress of Mughal India with the noble title 'Qudsia Begum' the pure one!! Her's is a story filled with love power and courtly drama… She built for herself a beautiful garden palace next to the river Yamuna where she would hold the most opulent soirees and entertain only the most elite of the Badshah’s durbar!! 

It is here that you will find the storytellers of DBF this weekend reminiscing the forgotten tale of the 'tawaifs'!!. 

The women who shaped our history and culture in myriad ways… As the epitome of ‘adab’ the custodian of etiquette poise culture and music she nurtured poetry classical Kathak dance and norms of ‘protocol’ which were bold even by the standards of the Europeans who visited India during the 15/16th century!!

The tawaifs were not just exemplary singers and dancers… they were sometime great warriors and at other times celebrated poets… And unlike what we may think today the word ‘Tawaif’ didn’t exactly raise the hackles of society in that era. 

But times changed and the term became a taboo… from gilded mehfils they were banished to dingy brothels. While the British cast-out these illustrious women to the outskirts of the city the independent Indian government reformed them into invisibility.

Meet us at Delhi’s well kept secret the beautiful Qudsia Bagh for a walk & baithak discussing the many fascinating tales of the tawaifs and their journey through history… hear their poetry and the achievements and anecdotes of their lives amidst the greens of a garden-palace built by a ‘Tawaif’ herself!!

Walk presentation will be done in a mix of Hindi/Urdu and English!!

ANY FURTHER QUERIES CALL/TEXT +91 6266766967

DATE & TIME: 8 AM-11 AM Sunday 4th Sept

CHARGES: Rs.600/person incl of walk & Baithak 

DISCOUNTS: 

* Rs 400/person for enthusiastic Senior Citizens and Students

MEETING POINT: Shahi Masjid Qudsia Bagh Ring Road (Exact GPS location will be mailed once you have registered)

Host or Publisher Delhi By Foot