imported>SkYe1213: /* In popular culture */

2021-07-07T01:24:19Z

In popular culture

New page

{{short description|Indian Dance Form}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
'''Mujra''' is a [[dance]] performance by women in a format that emerged during [[Mughal India|Mughal rule in India]], where the elite class and local rulers like the [[nawabs]] of the Indian society (often connected to the Mughal emperor's court) used to frequent courtesans for their entertainment at night. This trend was increasingly evident during the decadent or decline years of the Mughal empire.<ref name=QI/>

==Background and history==
It combines elements of the native classical [[Kathak]] dance with native music including [[thumri]]s and [[ghazal]]s. It also includes poems from other [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] periods like the emperors from [[Akbar]] to [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]]'s ruling periods.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/06/arts/the-riches-of-mogul-india-bring-a-dynasty-to-life.html?searchResultPosition=2/ |title=THE RICHES OF MOGUL INDIA BRING A DYNASTY TO LIFE|author=Sanjoy Hazarika|date=6 October 1985|website=The New York Times |access-date=3 October 2019}}</ref> Mujra was traditionally performed at [[mehfil]]s and in special houses called ''[[haveli|kothas]]''.{{which lang|date=May 2021}} During [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] rule in the [[subcontinent]], in places such as [[Delhi]], [[Lucknow]], [[Jaipur]], the tradition of performing mujra was a family art and often passed down from mother to daughter. These courtesans or [[tawaif]]s had some power and prestige due to their access to the elite class and some of them came to be known as authorities on culture. Some noble families would send their sons to them to learn etiquette and the art of conversation from them.<ref name=QI/> They were sometimes called [[Nautch girls]] which included dancers, singers and playmates of their patron nawabs.<ref name=QI/>

In [[Lahore]], [[Mughal empire]]'s [[Heera Mandi]] neighbourhood, the profession was a cross between art and exotic dance, with the performers often serving as courtesans amongst [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] royalty or wealthy patrons. "The wealthy even sent their sons to the salons of ''tawaifs'', high-class courtesans that have been likened to Japanese geishas, to study etiquette."<ref name=Dawn/><ref name=QI/>

As a musical genre, mujras historically reconstruct an aesthetic culture of sixteenth-to-nineteenth-century South Asia in which heightened musical and dance entertainment afforded a medium for exchange between one woman and many men — what ethnomusicologist Regula Qureshi calls, "an asymmetry of power that is tempered with gentility."

==Present day==
Modern Mujra dancers perform at events like weddings, birthday and bachelor parties in countries where traditional [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] culture is prevalent, such as [[India]]. To a lesser extent, dancers in India often perform a modern form of mujra along with popular local music.<ref>John Caldwell, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.453.4579&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=136], Southeast Review of Asian Studies Volume 32 (2010), pp. 120-8, Retrieved 2 February 2017</ref><ref name=QI>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/india/1619758/how-tawaifs-the-mughal-era-courtesans-fought-for-indian-freedom/ |author=Soumya Rao|title=Mughal-era courtesans are the unsung heroes of India's freedom struggle|date=15 May 2019|website=[[Quartz India]]|access-date=3 October 2019}}</ref>

In 2005, when [[dance bar]]s were closed across [[Maharashtra]] state, many former bar girls moved to 'Congress House' near Kennedy Bridge on [[Grant Road]] area in [[Mumbai]], the city's oldest hub for mujra, and started performing mujra there. The women are trained in mujra in [[Agra]] of [[India]] and [[Lahore]] and [[Karachi]] of [[Pakistan]]. Dawn newspaper, Karachi, describes [[Lahore]]'s [[Heera Mandi]] area as, "Pakistan's oldest red light district was for centuries, a hub of traditional erotic dancers, musicians and prostitutes."<ref name=Dawn>[http://www.dawn.com/news/1279428 'How Facebook is killing Lahore's Heera Mandi' on Dawn (newspaper)] Published 23 August 2016, Retrieved 2 October 2019</ref>

In many areas of the Indian subcontinent, they are called by different names – for example they are called ''tawaifs'' in North India and Pakistan (in Hindi and Urdu-speaking areas), ''devadasis'' in South India and ''baijis'' in Bengal.<ref name=QI/>

Most women hope for an international dance [[career]] or South Asian dance career at a film studio.

''Mujra'' in the [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Hindi-Urdu]] languages means:
* Payment of respects
* Musical performance by a dancing-girl
* To salute deferentially

==In popular culture==
Mujra has been depicted in [[Bollywood]] films like [[Sadhna (1958 film)|Sadhna]] (1958), ''[[Pakeezah]]'' (1972), ''[[Umrao Jaan (1981 film)|Umrao Jaan]]'' (1981), ''Zindagi Ya Toofan'' (1958) and ''[[Devdas (1955 film)|Devdas]]'' (1955), or in other films that show the past Mughal rule and its culture. The dance is upscaled and taught with more dance choreography to make the female dancer more fluent in her moves and to be more [[artistic]] and [[feminine]]. The women are usually the [[Center (geometry)|center]] of the [[public]] eye and can dance and entertain the [[audience]] for a long time.

In Pakistan's [[Lollywood]] films like ''[[Anjuman (1970 film)|Anjuman]]'' (1970), one can see many mujra dances being performed before the movie is over<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D61Yh7vUrKI Watch 'Mujra dance' being performed in Pakistani film Anjuman (1970 film) on YouTube] Retrieved 2 October 2019</ref> while in [[Pakistani dramas]] such as ''[[Deewar-e-Shab]]'' (2019) and ''[[Umrao Jan Ada (serial)|Umrao Jan Ada]]'' (2003), there were also several Mujra performances.

==See also==
* [[Dance bar (India)]]
* [[Nautch]]

==Further reading==
* Martha Feldman, Bonnie Gordon. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=U-iuYBiOkRgC&printsec=frontcover&hl=nl&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false The courtesan's arts: cross-cultural perspectives]''. pp. 312–352.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083248/?ref_=nv_sr_2, Film 'Umrao Jaan' (1981 film) with many 'Mujra dances' on IMDb website]
*[https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/14702/of-pakistani-weddings-and-vulgar-mujras/ Of Pakistani weddings and vulgar mujras on The Express Tribune (newspaper)]
*[https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/the-bollywood-mujra-primer/277211 The Bollywood Mujra Primer on Outlook (India magazine)]
*[https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/bipasha-to-perform-mujra-in-shootout-at-wadala-102964-2012-05-22 Bipasha's next: A mujra song in 'Shootout at Wadala' on India Today (newspaper)]
*[https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/lifestyle/inhi-logon-ne-le-leena-uncertain-history-of-song-that-defined-bollywood-mujras/ 'Inhi logon ne le leena': 'Uncertain' history of song that defined Bollywood Mujras - What is the driving force behind our obsession with the story of a courtesan with a heart of gold? on Daily Pakistan Global (newspaper)]

{{Dance in India}}
{{Prostitution in India}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mujra}}
[[Category:Mughal culture]]
[[Category:Dances of India]]
[[Category:Dance in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Sex industry in India]]
[[Category:Sex industry in Pakistan]]

Mujra - Revision history

imported>SkYe1213: /* In popular culture */