The Last Courtesans of Bombay: Recent Episodes
The Swaddle
This podcast series uncovers the mysterious world of Bombay’s courtesans to find a rich history of women who defy gender stereotypes and uphold feminist intellectual tradition. This podcast is brought to you by TS Studios, a production company that brings The Swaddle’s storytelling and creative point of view to original podcasts and films.
With Mujra in decline, a neighbourhood that was once the nerve centre of Bombay’s courtesan culture struggles to stay alive, in the final episode of our podcast series.
English Translation of Episode 4: A Crumbling Community Naseem Bhai: There were many shops selling perfumes. Perfumes used to sell very well, so there were lots of shops selling it. Not just perfumes, ladies’ accessories like lipstick, powder, etc. — there were shops selling these, too. But all those have shut now. The rent used to be Rs. 8,000 earlier; now it is down to Rs. 3,000. You can see, all those shops are shut now. Earlier, this road used to be bustling with activity, gleaming with lights. Voiceover in English, amid mujra performers singing. Woman 1: You come here to enjoy. It is my job to make you fall in love with me. If I don’t show you love, how will you feel love for me? Woman 2: All my family members have cut off all ties from me because I entered this industry. They said, ‘We can’t kill her because, after all, it’s the family blood. We won’t be able to kill, so let’s cut off all ties.’ Man: At 4 am, when the whistle used to blow, the music would finally stop. Till then, every house would be lit up. But now, no one comes here. People can barely recover their rents. There is no business here, how can people run shops here? Voiceover in English. Host Kunal Pirohit: Can you tell me a bit more about the ambiance back then? Would it be as dark as it is right now? Naseem Bhai: No, no. The ambiance and illumination then … till 4 am, when the performances finished and the final whistle was blown, till then, there would be lights outside every house. People would also use some flower garlands with these lights to decorate the outside of their houses. Each house’s decoration was distinct. There would be vendors selling flowers, walking around applying mehndi (henna), some vendors would walk around selling snacks in small pouches. It felt as if a market was setting up at 4 am, as soon as people got free from the performances. There was a café here, Sardar Hotel, which would remain shut through the day but make up for its business in those few hours of the night. There would so much activity even at 4 am that no one would feel scared, walking around. So, as soon as the performances ended, all these vendors would come. There used to be many taxis in the area to drop the performers to their homes. Often, when we couldn’t fall asleep, we would listen to the whistle and know it’s 4 am and it was time for us to sleep. Voiceover in English. Naseem Bhai: Back in the day, this hotel used to be so busy that it would be impossible to buy seekh kababs from here! There used to be long queues of people from all over the city, because Sayyed’s Seekh Kebabs were so famous. Both, patrons, as well as visitors, would spend money in the neighborhood, eating, shopping, drinking. Voiceover in English. Naseem Bhai: We had appointed Ismail Bhai, whose job was to blow the whistle at 4 am each morning. The whistle meant all performances had to stop immediately. Then, after 9 to 10 am, people could start performances again. So, even if your patrons insisted that they wanted to listen to performances at 4 am, you could not perform. Performers would tell such patrons to wait for a few hours. The rule was clear — no matter who the patron is, no matter how he was paying, you could not perform beyond 4 am. Voiceover in English. Naseem Bhai: One of the best things about the community is that ‘time’ — time is what they called mujra — during ‘time,’ if someone died, then the mujra would shut down for a day. No matter who died, whether it was in the immediate neighborhood, or someone in the family of the performers, the mujra would remain shut for a day as a mark of respect. That day, even if the wealthiest man in the city came to your door, you were not allowed to perform. You could offer him tea and a snack, but you were not allowed to perform. Voiceover in English. Interview with Anna Morcom in English. Voiceover in English. Naseem Bhai: In the jalsa (celebration), the performers of the neighborhood would sing and dance. This was done in the open. These performers would not charge for it. All the money that was collected was donated to whatever was the occasion — an urgent humanitarian cause, a terror attack, or if a family did not have enough money to get their daughters married. Voiceover in English. Naseem Bhai: After a death in the neighborhood, or even during Muharram, for all 12 days, these performers still hold langars (free communal kitchens), where free meals are given to anyone who comes, no matter what faith they belong to. All performers and kothas pool in money and contribute, depending on what they can afford. Voiceover in English. Interview with Anna Morcom in English.
In this episode, a mother-daughter courtesan duo reflects on their divergent paths, and how much this matrilineal culture has changed in just one generation.
English Translation of Episode 3: A Break With the Past Voiceover in English. Woman 1: You come here to enjoy. It is my job to make you fall in love with me. If I don’t show you love, how will you feel love for me? Woman 2: All my family members have cut off all ties from me because I entered this industry. They said, ‘We can’t kill her because, after all, it’s the family blood. We won’t be able to kill, so let’s cut off all ties.’ Man: At 4 am, when the whistle used to blow, the music would finally stop. Till then, every house would be lit up. But now, no one comes here. People can barely recover their rents. There is no business here, how can people run shops here? Voiceover in English. Host Kunal Pirohit: Zoya, how long have you been in this industry for? Zoya: I have been in this industry for 8 years now. Host Kunal Pirohit: And how about your education? What have you studied? Zoya: I haven’t studied much. I studied till the third class in Mira Road. After that, we came to Bombay and we had to let go of our school. Things were going smooth here when we suddenly faced some problems and hence, had to come into this industry. Voiceover in English. Zoya: When I started off, I didn’t know how to dance. I used to go to dance bars, but there was no dancing there. We had to just stand there. After that, when I started going to mujra, I saw that the women there danced so well. So, aunty would smack me on the feet! It would never be very hard. She would say, if I couldn’t dance, how would I learn, how will I earn? So, she would constantly push me to learn. She would keep giving me cold looks when I couldn’t get it right. She told me she would whack me in front of customers. Fearing such an insult, I started learning how to dance. (Laughs) Voiceover in English. Zoya: Earlier, mujra dancers were conservatively dressed. Now, the more revealing they are, the better it is for business. So, the kotha managers also encourage us to ‘dress well.’ They mean as revealing as possible. This used to not be the case, earlier. Host Kunal Pirohit: How do customers select which kotha to go, because there are so many of these at Congress House? Zoya: Generally, customers walk around and check all the rooms out. They come and see where the women are good-looking and then, based on what they see, they decide where to go. Voiceover in English. Zoya:Let’s say, there is a new customer who has walked in for the first time. So, you have to look at them, smile, so that he selects you. Women think, if he selects me, I’ll earn some money and get a new customer. So, at first, you dance for them and then customers exchange numbers. Voiceover in English. Zoya: There are many new ‘Madams’ in town. They force performers to go out with their customers. They often make it compulsory, saying you can be part of the kotha only if you agree to meet customers outside the kotha. So, the performer thinks that the only way to earn good money is to go out with customers. The kotha that I work in has a very good Madam. She has left it to us to decide if we want to go out with customers or not. She doesn’t force us, either way. Voiceover in English. Zoya: Such private performances used to not take place earlier. But, now they are common. The private performance happens in the same room. So, whenever a customer requests for a private performance, everyone else except the dancer and the customer leaves the room. Often, during the dance, the guy tries to touch the woman and exploits the situation. The man is not allowed to touch the woman, but because she’s alone, he tries to do these things. The dancer can’t say much because she knows if says anything, he’ll patronize someone else. These days, most girls are here only to earn good money. They don’t care about the morality of it. Voiceover in English. Zoya: Some boys came from this neighborhood in Mumbai called Dongri. They said they liked me and wanted to meet me outside the kotha. My kotha’s Madam, said if she agrees, she can go; it was her decision, she said. I had already told her that I won’t like to go. It depends on the women, right? But, those guys insisted. The Madam told the guys that they can’t do anything against my wishes. Lots of other men also came. Finally, the police had to be called. The Madam said that we had only agreed for a performance, we never agreed to meet them outside. Then, how could they insist on such things? Voiceover in English. Zoya: During my mother’s time, there was respect for us. She knows that it has gotten worse but she hasn’t faced it, so she doesn’t know how bad it is. We fight these circumstances every day. So, my mother doesn’t understand what we feel; she has no clue what we’ve been through. She tells me to eat, but there are days when I don’t even feel like having food. I keep thinking about what all has happened in the day. You feel hurt but you can’t say much. But you can’t discuss this with your family. Just come home, have dinner and sleep. I don’t have anyone to share all this with; it gets heavy keeping it inside, but I must. If I tell my mum, she’ll feel terrible and worry a lot. I don’t want her health to be affected. It has taken a lot for her to feel better and get healthy again. Often, I keep thinking about my life, thinking what’ll happen, when will I leave this and settle down. I replay everything that has happened in my days. I can’t share it with anyone; I just keep thinking about it. If I had a friend, I would have been able to share it. But I don’t even have such a friend. Voiceover in English. Zoya: I’ll have to keep working till my family settles down, till my younger sister gets married, till my elder sister’s son sets up his professional life. When all this is done, I’ll happily walk away from this work. I don’t enjoy this work. Only I know how I survive, working through this.