The Historylogy Podcast

Courting Hindustan - Book Review

Episode Summary

A review of the book 'Courting Hindustan: The Consuming Passions of Iconic Women Performers of India' written by Madhur Gupta.

Episode Notes

Courting Hindustan is a deeply researched, elegantly crafted portrait of some of the most intriguing women figures practising traditional Indian entertainment art forms such as music, dance and poetry. It relives 2,500 golden years of women being elite traditional performers and how, over the centuries, they have captured the imagination of the country and the world at large, their art and lives being a complex response to social forces and cultural conditions.

Courting Hindustan delves into the scintillating world of courtesans who went on to become empresses, queens, prima donnas, pioneer filmmakers, music directors, ace dancers and so much more. Many of them went on to rule kingdoms, enjoyed positions of great power; many were venerated by governments and yet they lived on the fringes of society. In many ways, these were women, first of their kind, to survive an entrenched patriarchal society and break the chains imposed on them, paving the way for generations of women to come and conquer.

Order links of the book 'Courting Hindustan: The Consuming Passions of Iconic Women Performers of India' below:
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Episode Transcription

Coming up: A review of the book 'Courting Hindustan: The Consuming Passions of Iconic Women Performers of India' written by Madhur Gupta.

Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.

Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.

Little bit about the author:

Madhur Gupta is one of the leading Odissi dance maestros of his generation. The Indian Express has hailed Gupta as one of the few male artists (in a field mostly dominated by women), who not only pursued Indian classical dance with devotion but also excelled at it.

Beginning his initial training in Kathak with a maestro like Padma Vibhushan awardee Pandit Birju Maharaj, he was strongly drawn towards Odissi as his life’s calling.

He has also had the fortune of interacting and learning from masters like Madhavi Mudgal, Bichitrananda Swain and Kumkum Lal. Madhur is currently in advanced training under the renowned dancer and Guru Smt Sharon Lowen in the Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra style of Odissi.

Apart from extensively touring, performing and writing, Madhur also teaches Odissi at Sangeet Vidya Niketan, New Delhi.

Let me read what is written on the back cover of the book:

QUOTE

In ancient India, women competed to win the title of Nagarvadhu, quite literally the town’s consort.

For certain temple worship (Agamas), dance and music were necessary ingredients. The women artists dedicated to the worship—Devadasis and Maharis—had a high rank and dignity in society.

Tawaifs were central to Mughal court culture from the sixteenth century. It is also believed that young heirs were sent to courtesans to learn ‘tameez’ and ‘tehzeeb’, including the appreciation of good music and literature.

Courting Hindustan is a deeply researched, elegantly crafted portrait of some of the most intriguing women figures practising traditional Indian entertainment art forms such as music, dance and poetry. It relives 2,500 golden years of women being elite traditional performers and how, over the centuries, they have captured the imagination of the country and the world at large, their art and lives being a complex response to social forces and cultural conditions.

Courting Hindustan delves into the scintillating world of courtesans who went on to become empresses, queens, prima donnas, pioneer filmmakers, music directors, ace dancers and so much more. Many of them went on to rule kingdoms, enjoyed positions of great power; many were venerated by governments and yet they lived on the fringes of society. In many ways, these were women, first of their kind, to survive an entrenched patriarchal society and break the chains imposed on them, paving the way for generations of women to come and conquer.

UNQUOTE

Coming back to the book review, it contents info on the lives of ten famous courtesans/artists. They are:

1. Amrapali
2. Vasantsena
3. Roopmati
4. Begum Samru
5. Begum Hazrat Mahal
6. Gauhar Jaan
7. Janki Bai
8. Jaddan Bai
9. Begum Akhtar and
10. Balasaraswati

The book is very fast paced and gives us a glimpse into the lives of women who entertained Maharajas, Emperors and other members of nobility and also the rich and famous.

As mentioned in the Introduction, the book oscillates between fact and myths, through this book, we relive 2,500 golden years of women who were elite traditional entertainers, musicians, singers, poets and dancers.

The book also navigates how, over the centuries, courtesans withstood the sociopolitical and economic upheavals, subtly shaping society at large and becoming the repositories of art and high culture.

I really enjoyed reading this book as it reveals the lives of India’s famous female performers in a very crisp manner without going into a lot of detail as this isn’t a big book. It is less than 200 pages.

I give this book 4.25/5 and highly recommend this book if you want to know how such famous and powerful women lived and how all this came to an end due to the beginning of the British Raj. You will definitely learn a lot of new things in this brilliant book.

The book has been published by Rupa Publications and is available for around Rs. 230/- on Amazon India and under Rs. 260/- on Flipkart. And it is available for around $16 USD on Amazon USA. I will provide all the respective buy links in the show notes.

Last but not the least, thank you for spending your valuable time listening to this book review. Really grateful. Please don't forget to subscribe to the Historylogy podcast on your favourite podcasting app and also feel free to leave a review. Also, please check historylogy.com for all previous episodes. Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you. Take care and bye!