MUJRA DANCERS OF MUMBAI

MUJRAS OF MUMBAI As part of a collaborative research project on the Marginalization of Traditional Indian Dances, I have done some field research in the red light area of Mumbai . The Foras Road or R.S.Nimkar road, near the Bombay Central railway station houses a community of Mujra Artists whose ancestry goes back to 200 years of the history of Mumbai. I spent a couple of weeks during June July 2011, in the B.S.Wadi (Bachu Seth Wadi) , area to understand how Mujra dancing communities are marginalized in Mumbai 400008. Google Map : http://maps.google.com/maps?q=shuklaji+street+Mumbai,+Maharashtra,+India&hl=en&ll=18.967033,72.823101&spn=0.002704,0.005493&sll=18.973233,72.822415&sspn=0.005408,0.010986&t=h&z=18 SUMMARY REPORT The Mujra artists in the area have been banned from performing their profession of dance and music On 18 February 2011, a group of local police men from the Nagpada police station of the South Mumbai district imposed verbal orders of banning of the dance and music performances of the Mujra artists in the B.S.Wadi -Foras area, where they have been living and performing for the past 150 years. When the community representatives asked for written orders in this regard the local police said that they have received orders from “higher authorities to impose the ban of their performances”. Accordingly on next day, the representatives of the Mujra artist community of nearly 3,000 persons in 500 plus households went to meet Mumbai District Additional Police Commissioner Mr. M. Vineet Aggarwal to seek help in lifting the ban of their livelihood profession. The representatives, include some elderly women, were treated with utmost contempt by the police officer and he just repeated what the local police men have already said that they are being banned from performing the Mujra dances in the B.S.Wadi area . While refusing to issue any written orders in this regard, the police officer have asked them to obtain “proper licenses to perform” from “the theater branch” of the Mumbai, the nodal agency of the Mumbai police to issue such licenses for public performances. During the meeting with Mr. Vijay Singh Jhadhav, the head of the Theater Branch of the Mumbai Police on the next day he said the Mujra artists do not require any license to perform and also said he is NOT in a position to issue any such licenses or certificates. The community feels that the present police action is based on some false perceptions about them that the Mujra artists are engaged in prostitution, selling and consumption of alcohol and drugs. The artists apprehend that if they perform against the unwritten orders, the police may implicate them for creating “public nuisance”. The voice of the singers, the sounds of Gungroo ( anklets) Tabla, Harmonium and Sarangi are sufficient reasons for the police to sue them for “causing serious sound pollution in the area”, which according to the police is an act of “ public nuisance”. Since this ‘Illegal banning”, the community have fallen to abject poverty, degradation and social ostracisation. They are now being deprived of practicing their fundamental right to work and earn through dance and music. The families have fallen to poverty and have no other source to meet their basic house hold needs. The school going children have become drop outs because they are not able to pay their tuition and examination fees. The sick are not able to get their life saving medicines and their daily existences are getting worse every day. Unfortunately neither the government nor any other agency have so far come forward for any help to save this traditional artist community from extinction. Majority of the houses of these Mujra artists in the B.S.Wadi are one room space of nearly 100 Sq.ft where they live, perform and entertain audiences. Most of the houses have no running water or toilets . The common facilities for the whole are disastrous. The whole are is stinking with broken sewage pipe lines, broken overflowing and broken pipesre are no y have no basic facilities to lead a decent life. Every night beat police men from the local police station knocked their doors and even enters their homes at the late hours of the night to checked for illegal activities. If police a drunkard from neighboring red light area in the B.S.Wadi, then it is almost certain that the Mujra dancers will be held responsible. The present illegal banning of their profession is in many ways has a history of harassment of several years which the community has been at the receiving end. Even though the police is continuing their harassment against these artists through false allegations of prostitution, there is NOT a single complaint exists in the local or any other police station of Mumbai to prove their claim. The community representatives claim that the police have NO proof to prove their allegation of prostitution. Surprisingly this artist community continue to get formal invitations from the local police to perform occasions such as Indian independence day on 15th August and Republic day on 26 January every year in the very same local station which brand them as prostitutes. On many occasions in the past, both the Maharashtra Central Governments have invited these artists to participate in many national and international art and cultural events in India and abroad. They have also participated in large numbers in a programme, Shraddhanjali, organized by the city artists to pay homage to the victims of 26 /11 violence, when the city of Mumbai was under siege from extremists. The artists have also performed in front of many luminaries of India such as former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs. Indira Gandhi in the past . Both the late Prime Ministers have clearly acknowledged the historical importance and Indian roots of their artistic practice. The Mujra artists in B.S.Wadi hold proper licenses to perform and earn from their profession. In 1963/ 1973 when similar issue came up, the Maharashtra State High Court had ruled categorically that the Mujra artists do not require any license to perform because their shows are not ticketed nor have any entry fee. The Mujra dances are free public shows where the viewers are expected to give them some “gifs or Bakshish” voluntarily as an act of appreciation. This is a practice which has been existence since the time of Mughal rulers when this dance form was first introduced. Leading lawyer in the country Mr.Ram Jethmalani appeared in the court for arguing the case of the Mujra community. On another occasion in the year 2007 when the community faced similar situation , the Maharshtra State Government issued them licence to perform Mujra in the B.S.wadi area. Every Mujra home in the B.S.wadi prominently hang this official certificate on the wall which clearly states that the Mujra dance is legal . The certificate was issued by Rangabhoomi Pariyog Parinireekshan Mandalach and the name of the certificate is Thatpurtha Yogyatha Pramana Pathra. Just a Kilometer away from B.S.wadi area there is another “famous” Mujra dance center known as “Congress House”. This place is popular in the city for its flesh trade where dancers perform nude in front of their audiences. The dances of the girls in Congress House are invariably accompanied by loud speakers, digital and electronic instruments and are in gross violation to many legal acts. These vulgar and obscene acts of dance strangely receive no threat from the local police and have been going on for many years now. The police find no violation of any law in the Congress House despite the fact that the place in no longer a Mujra dance center but a huge brothel which practice flesh trade. Also, while the law of banning of dancing girls in alcohol serving bars is in existence across the state of Maharashtra, the Congress House enjoy exception due to the patronage that it receives from the ruling class. THE ORIGINS OF MUJRA DANCE IN B.S.WADI FORAS ROAD When the British built Bombay in 19th century AD , an area comprising of Foras road, Shuklaji Street, Kamathipura in Southern part of Bombay was ear marked as “Play House” area, meant to provide entertainments for sailors, business class and others who were visiting Bombay. This colonial design, as one can observe in many former colonies, without surprise soon became the centers of flesh trade. Today this area enjoys a notorious reputation being the largest red light area/ prostitution center in the country . There are thousands of brothels in this area which openly practice prostitution. Girls, many are under age, are being brought from distant places are being sold as animals and are pushed in to this trade by an extensive network of mafia who enjoy patronage from ruling elites. There are few brothels in the area have “licenses” and prominently display their number board outside the building for enticing the customers. This area is also known for many criminal activities and is a nerve center of many illegal businesses. The B.S.Wadi area where the Mujra dancing community has been practicing their art is geographically falls within this red light area. It is widely believed by the members of the community that their ancestors were brought to this area by the British as performing artists. After the annexation of Oudh Kingdom in North India and the exile of Nawab Wazir Ali Shah from Lucknow , a great patron of music, dance, theater and writer, the fate of the performing artists across Oudh Kingdom faced serious crisis for survival. The events of the first independence war in 1857, the British revenge against the rebellious rulers which finally ended in the crowning of India as the Jewel of British empire lead to several administrative changes which lead to the deprivation all of state patronage for these performing artists, their main source of income. The worst victims of this deprivation were the Tawaif or court courtesans who enjoyed royal patronage since early Mughal period. It appears natural and quite attractive for these performing artists to come to the new city of Bombay when the new rulers extended comfortable opportunities to earn and practice their art. It gave them good opportunities to earn and practice their art against appalling poverty that engulfed most of the sub continent in 19th century AD. Many performing artist communities thus believe that their ancestors opted to migrate to Bombay and settled in the areas ear marked for them by the British. Thus B.S.Wadi are in Foras road became their adopted homeland. According to the traditions prevalent among the artists, minimum composition of a Mujra dance ( yet to trace the etymological origins) comprises of a dancing girl called Tawaif with elaborate costumes, make up and Gungroo ( anklets), a vocal singing artist and accompanying musicians on instruments such as Tabla, Harmonium, Sarangi. According to traditions the Mujra dances are not allowed to charge any fee from the audiences. It was always performed free to audiences who may be encouraged to donate some gifts or Bkashish. The regional variations that one sees in the performance of Mujra artists in Bombay are attributed to the migration of artists from different regions of North India to Bombay. CONTRIBUTION OF MUJRA DACE IN INDIAN DANCE AND MUSIC The overwhelming feature of the prevailing traditional Mujra dance community here have some very striking similarities with the dancing style one of India’s major national art form, Kathak. Many art historians argued that the Kathak dance is of a recent origin and has traced its roots back to the dances of Tawaif of the Mujra dancing communities of North India. The style of the Mujra dance or Tawaif, though have minor regional variations, have many elements of uniformity in movements of feet, hands and facial expressions and is explicitly close to popular Kathak dance form. Many scholars argue that Kathak is a refined version of Tawaifs of Mujra. Majority of the Mujra songs are drawn from the writings of famous Urdu poets which reflect Sufi spiritual traditions and lyrical romantic expressions of the Urdu literature. Since early 13th century AD, when the Sufi traditions appeared across the North India, its followers practiced spiritual music and mystic dances to express their concepts of the sacredness. The Mujra community through their devotion to art retained many of the styles, forms and practices which they inherited from their ancestors against many insurmountable difficulties and oddities. With the emergence of Kathak as acceptable form for the emerging middle class as well as for the state these traditional dancers who actually gave birth to the decent Kathak were relegated to the fringe of the society as mere “entertainers. Due to their geographical closeness to the areas of prostitution the urban middle class also treats with them contempt. This start reality of neglect and contempt is in contraction to the patronage and support Kathak dancers’ receive from the state and larger society. Like many other traditional dance forms the Mujra dancers begin their training at a young age under some masters. The dancer has to practice with other dancers as well as with musicians for several years before making first public appearance. Even a small error in timing can invite wrath from masters. The aesthetic perfection of the Mujra dance lies in the artistic blend of the movements of the dancers with the accompanying vocal singer and instrumental music. To become a fine artist a Tawaif has to devote her entire life for perfection. The community living style of these dancers therefore became a necessary to keep their tradition alive. There are several legendary Tawaifs belong to the Mujra tradition. Umrao Jan is one of the most popular Tawaifs who became immortalized through literature and film. There are several prominent musicians from India and Pakistan who were part of the Mujra dancing community. From all time great classical singer Ustad Bade Gulam Alsi Sahib there are many great musicians like Allah Rakha, Begum Akhtar, Niaz Ahm,ad Khan Sahib, Fyaz Ahmad Khan sahib, Abdul Kareem Khan sahib , Habibuddin Khan Sangeet Samrat, Shasad Beegum were groomed in the Mujra Community of B.S.Wadi. This community stood with these great musicians in their hard struggle for artistic perfection which is one of the proudest cultural achievements of India. Some of the leading music composers of Hindi cinema like Sajid Wajid, Altaf , Javed Ali , Ryhan have their musicial training in the humble homes of Mujras of B.s.Wadi. There are 21 national award recipients of Padma shree and Padma Bhushan from this B.S.Wadi Mujra centre. But unfortunately, today the children of this community which contributed significantly to Indian music are struggling to have proper daily meals. MUJRA DANCE AND HINDI FILM Ever since the first talking Hindi films Mujras were and are still part of the mainstream Hindi cinema industry. There are a number of film stars who trace their origins to this community like Saira Bhano, Madhu Bala, Kum Kum, Jaddan Bhai ( mother of great actress Nargis) trace their artistic origins to the dance and music traditions of Mujra artist community in B.S.wadi Foras Road. ABOUT THE PROJECT This is a collaborative research project by a group of Canadian and Indian  scholars, artists and film makers. Canadian scholars Dr.Teresa Hubel and Prof. Nandi Bhatia from University of Western Ontario, whose important works on India and Diaspora which I have mentioned to you in the past, are the   project leaders. Bharatanatyam dancer and scholar Dr.Vidya Natarajan  King's College Canada, noted play writer and film maker Mahesh Dattani, scholar Prof..Anjali Roy, Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT), Kharagpur, and myself are the other team members. The objective of the research is to look at the contribution of  some of India's traditional performing arts such as Devadasi, Tawaif, Mujra, Hijra and Gypsy in shaping many modern dance forms in India  how these forms and artist communities have been eliminated from the national imagination of modern India's culture. The project intends to look at the changes brought by the colonial encounter on these cultural traditions and the roles it played in emerging many modern Indian dance forms such as Kathak, Bharatanatyam  and Bollywood dances . We have done several hours of video filming of these artists and the work is still progressing skpillai2012