From the Taliban takeover to lockdowns in India, how Bhilwara’s textile industry survived 2021

From_the_Taliban_takeover_to_lockdowns_in_India_how_Bhilwaras_textile_industry_survived_2021

<div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><i><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">In one of the busiest spots in Chandpole market, the tawaifs in their poignant anarkalis and inherited talent are keeping an old tradition alive.&nbsp;</font></span></i></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><b><span style="font-size: 20px;">Jaipur:</span></b><span style="font-size: 20px;"> Zubeida Bano started performing <i>mujra</i> at the tender age of 18. Now 70, chewing her supari, clad in a plain pathani suit, it is difficult to believe at first glance that she is a trained dancer. However, one only need to spend some time in her <i>mujraghar&nbsp;</i>to notice the&nbsp;<i>ada</i> (style) with which she walks, how she sits with authority on her <i>gaddi</i>, and her deep eyes that reflect memories of an age-old tradition, and understand that she has been a part of rich cultural history.</span></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">Her <i>mujraghar</i> is one of the 20 at Jaipur's Chandpole Bazaar. Her authority seems to come from three areas: her pride in keeping an old dance form alive, her ownership of the <i>mujraghar</i>, and her own memories.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">You know the <i>mehfil</i>&nbsp;is about to begin when you start seeing Bano and many older and former <i>tawaifs</i> (courtesans) step into their <i>mujraghars</i> to begin the performances.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">Bano’s <i>mujraghar</i>, in one of the most important markets of Jaipur, overlooks the streets that are a rush of houses and tourists buying clothes, savouring food, and haggling with <i>rickshawalas</i>.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">A steep staircase leads to the <i>mujraghar </i>on the first floor. Amid the usual din of the market, there's one thing that is exclusive to this street — the chime of <i>ghunghroos</i> and tinkling of music systems around 7 in the evening.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">The windows get lit up and the<i> tawaifs </i>get ready for the evening show. “We have permission to play music till 11 pm every day. The police are usually downstairs and we can reach out to them if we ever want to,” Bano pointed out.&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">"<i>Mere yahaan sirf mujra chalta hai </i>(I only allow mujra here),” she said, emphasising that her <i>mujraghar </i>has a license and her girls are&nbsp; performers. “That's why the police also do not object to our presence in this prominent market," she explained, adding that <i>mujra</i> should not be equated with prostitution.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">"It's either by performances over the years or erstwhile gifts from the then kings that we have earned these <i>mujraghars</i>. I bought this place 10 years ago for Rs 30 lakh and today it is easily worth Rs 1.5 crore," said Bano, adjusting herself comfortably in her <i>gaddi</i>. Her unapologetic way of speaking reflected the<i> rutba</i> (honour) that a <i>tawaif </i>drew in older times.&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter"><b>The good old days</b></font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">Gulabo* (name changed), a young, practicing <i>tawaif</i>, in a <i>mujraghar </i>next to Bano's reminisces about the older times as well. “Our nani (maternal grandmother) told us that they used to do <i>mujras </i>and even the royalty used to visit. In fact, they used to send young kids to learn <i>tehzeeb</i> (courtesy) and art from them," she recalled, adding that things have changed now.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">"Respect for the art form has gone down. We are performers and we want to perform and live a life of dignity. Sometimes, we are seen in a bad light and that should change,” she said.&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">More than anyone, Bano is extremely proud of the fact that she has managed not to succumb to the modern demands of her customers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">"Sometimes an audience demands that the girls perform item numbers, but we refuse right away. As an old<i> tawaif</i>, I have seen a lot of changes but we want to keep the kathak dance form alive in this tradition,” Bano explained, while one of her<i> tawaifs,</i> ready for the evening, looked at her from across the room, awaiting the evening’s audience to pour in.&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter"><i>Mujra</i>, a dance form brought to India during Mughal rule means a musical performance by a dancing-girl and paying of respects. Over the years, the art form has seen many variations. As in cities like Delhi and Lucknow, in Jaipur too the <i>mujra </i>is a licensed activity.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">Dr Abhimanyu Singh, Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Rajasthan University, pointed out that Jaipur has been under Mughal influence given its proximity to Delhi and marriage associations with the Mughal empire.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">“That's one of the main reasons behind the presence of <i>mujraghars </i>in the city since the establishment of Jaipur,” he said, adding that <i>mujras </i>were also a counter to the native Rajput culture. "The Rajputs preferred their courtesans not being in the public eye. However, the <i>tawaifs </i>were more independent and had their own place to live in and perform," he explained.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter"><b>Pandemic and the future</b></font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">One of the <i>tawaifs </i>spoke about how the pandemic had affected their lifestyle and art. "We used to have more than ten guests visiting us every evening and showering money. But during the pandemic, we spent the evenings alone. There was no income. Sometimes we resorted to Bollywood music to oblige the audience," she confessed.&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter" style=""><span style="font-size: 20px;">The oldest of all the </span><i style="font-size: 20px;">tawaifs </i><span style="font-size: 20px;">in the region was the most unapologetic and confident. "We have been practicing&nbsp;here for ages. Our mothers did too and so did their mothers. With time, we have adapted to the new forms," she said, sporting a beautiful old anarkali.&nbsp;</span></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">Explaining their way of life, she said: “We are the same as everyone else at home. Why would it be different?”</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">“Of course, sometimes we are seen in a bad way and maybe that's why a <i>baraat</i> (groom's procession) doesn't knock on our door,” she added, hinting at the irony behind their profession being legal but looked down by society.&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">Terming her performance space as her office, she said, “The women are elder sisters who are paying fees for their brothers and daughters who are running the household. We take money back to the family and it is like any other profession. In the olden times, a <i>tawaif </i>getting gold and silver was the norm, but nowadays we often have to haggle with taxi-drivers to come to our office.”&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">A lot might have changed for the <i>tawaifs</i> over the years, but what has remained intact is their authority, and their beautiful <i>mujraghars</i> that stand as pink-walled buildings, with checkered floors, small rooms with artistic doors and the sound of music. They can still transport one to the old world where a <i>tawaif</i> held a position of respect in society.&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">Santosh Jhanwar, a Jaipurite, observed, "I had no idea that we have this old dance form here. It just adds to our history. I am thankful to the <i>tawaifs</i> for keeping the <i>mujra</i> alive. They deserve more respect for the art they carry in their blood.”&nbsp;</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><font face="Charter"><br></font></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao" style="line-height: 1.6;"><span style="font-size: 20px;"><font face="Charter">Yet, Gulabo and her sister, who perform in the same <i>mujraghar</i>, admit with innocent eyes and beautiful faces that “I don't think I would want my child to continue this. I would rather have them study”.</font></span></div><div id=":1pv" class="Ar Au Ao"></div>