Long before the age of hip-thrusting Hindi-movie stars, Jaipur was the centre of a subtly suggestive Rajasthani dance form known as
mujra . Based on Sufi-influenced
kathak , the dance was not performed in temples, but in
kothas - special
havelis in the walled old town belonging to families of the dancers. Reclining on bolsters (
masnad ) and ornate appliquι mattresses, an exclusively male audience would gather in the late evening to be served betel on silver trays, while the women dancers, or
tawaifs , performed, accompanied by tabla, harmonium and percussion. Their costumes were similar to those worn by
kathak dancers: calf-length pleated
ghoomar skirts that swirled open during spins, and long silk pyjama trousers with cuffs of small bells tied around the ankles to emphasize elaborate footwork.
Only certain families performed mujra in Jaipur, handing down the tradition from mother to daughter. Through the generations, they retained relationships with well-to-do families in the city who would send their sons to the kotha to gain experience of music and poetry, as well as dance. For although it was not uncommon for tawaifs to become mistresses of their clients, the Jaipuri kothas were regarded primarily as repositories of fine manners and courtesies.
The drift from studied suggestiveness to clumsy eroticism really only began with the advent of cinema, after which the graceful moves of traditional mujra became increasingly debased by Bollywood groin-grinding and Hindi karaoke. By the 1950s, tawaif had become a synonym for "whore" and most kothas were basically brothels, while the few serious establishments left were forced out of business by constant anti-prostitution raids by the police. Of the 37 kothas open in 1957, only a dozen or so remain today, and most of these are pretty tawdry affairs. Dressed in garish Western-style clothes or bright salwar-kurta , the tawaifs now do routines from hit Hindi movies, bending on their knees to pull bank notes from punters' lips with their teeth.
Claims by a Delhi-based group set up to monitor the Indian sex industry that teenage mujra dancers were being smuggled into the UK to work in illicit Asian clubs were proven to be true in 2000. In the course of an enquiry into the murder of a London restaurateur, Scotland Yard's Clubs and Vice section discovered that mujra was being used as a front for prostitution in several British cities.
