Mehfil-e-Thumri: Representing Performers in Colonial India

collection stories

Mehfil-e-Thumri: Representing Performers in Colonial India

Vinayak Bose

In the history of North Indian Classical Music, the term 'classical' is a relatively recent concept, and its interpretation has evolved over time. Women musicians, often referred to as jans, baijis, and tawayefs, frequently find themselves on the margins of the musical landscape. The classification of the musical profession itself has been influenced by gender. While men’s vocal prowess is primarily assessed through forms like dhrupad and khayal, women artists also engage with khayal and, to a lesser extent, dhrupad, but their repertoire is predominantly associated with thumri and other forms such as dadra, kajri, and chaiti. This distinction complicates the application of the term 'classical,' leading to the use of descriptors like 'semi-classical' or 'light classical' for the musical styles traditionally associated with women. Let's explore how such performers were represented through words and images.

Prahlad Karmakar

Unknown Publisher

Dancing Girls in Attitude

Collotype, divided back, early 20th century, Collection: DAG Archives

A group of performers stand against the backdrop of stained-glass long windows which were a common architectural feature of mansions where performances by 'dancing girls' would be held, especially in Delhi and Lucknow. The title—in attitude—refers to this pose.

The inner Music Room of the Ramdulal Nibas in Kolkata.

Photographer: Vinayak Bose

The predominant musical assemblage in this period was the meḥfil or the jalsa, an intimate musical gathering for a select circle of connoisseurs.

Unknown Publisher

Dancing Girls in Attitude

Collotype, divided back, early 20th century, Collection: DAG Archives

The inner Music Room of the Ramdulal Nibas in Kolkata.

Photographer: Vinayak Bose

The predominant musical assemblage in this period was the meḥfil or the jalsa, an intimate musical gathering for a select circle of connoisseurs.

D. C. Anand & Sons

Pathan Dance

Collotype, divided back, early 20th century

Collection: DAG Archives

The title ‘Pathan Dance’, refers to a particular group of people usually residing in the north and northwest regions of South Asia. Although the title specifies dance, it is quite possible that the 'dancer' portrayed here was also trained as a vocalist. In case of women, no distinction seems to be evident between singers and dancers. Many of the great women singers of the past were skilled dancers and the traditional craft of the tawayef included dancing as one of its essential elements.

Phototype Co., Bombay

Singing Party

Collotype, undivided back, early 20th century

Collection: DAG Archives

This postcard, produced by The Phototype Company, Bombay presents four women seated with three male musicians. The Phototype Company was a prolific producer of postcards in the early 20th century—printing postcards by other companies while also creating their own with images usually depicting views of Bombay or cultural scenes. The women are draped in sarees and minimal jewellery which also diverges from the popular visualisations of performers in the early twentieth century. The caption, Singing Party, seemingly clarifies the logic of divergence by identifying those depicted as singers and removing the association of dance from the largely overlapping categories that constituted performance. Due to long exposure times, it would be impossible to capture performances in motion and therefore performers were staged or made to pose.

From the beginning of the nineteenth century, the progressive decay of the North Indian centers of patronage of music caused traditional practitioners of music to leave their ancestral homes to seek employment in metropolises like Calcutta and Bombay, where mercantile trade and proximity to the seat of colonial and political power had created an assorted class of patrons.

Even during this turbulent period, women singers maintained control over the kotha, transforming it into a significant venue for musical exchange and dissemination, including for male singers. Rather than merely being seen as a space for sexual gratification, the kotha served as a vital musical institution, playing a crucial role in the organisation of music. This challenged the assertions of traditional occupational groups that claimed to be the sole custodians of specific musical knowledge.

Unknown Publisher

Dancing Girls in Attitude

The inner Music Room of the Ramdulal Nibas in Kolkata.

Photographer: Vinayak Bose

With the decline of the Mughal Empire and other princely states, musicians began to seek new clients and patrons among the landed gentry and the bhadralok, or genteel class. These groups were eager to adopt the artistic preferences of earlier patrons of North Indian art and music while also engaging with a broader Indian cultural sphere influenced by Mughal traditions.

The nautch became a popular form of entertainment for Indian merchants hosting English guests. In Hobson-Jobson, there is an account of a European woman who had been invited to 'go to a nach given by a rich native, Rouplall Mullich, on the opening of his new house.'