No actually before the Britishers came to India, tawaifs were actually known as artists who could do classical/semi classical dance very well and could sing gracefully too. Many nawabs also went to them to learn ghazals, etiquettes etc. They had luxury and much respect. Before, uthk bethk with tawaifs was really very valuable and precious but after the Britishers came to India, the image of tawaifs worsened and thus they turned into prostitutes as shown in the picture. Britishers tortured the tawaifs, arrested some of the nawabs and tawaifs also and also stole all of the luxuries that the nawabs had.
If you were born in a regular family who didn’t have to sell you or make you sell your body or to marry you off at a young age, who offered you a roof and education, you are rich beyond anything. These poor women must’ve suffered so much 😢
By 1950s the French photographer saw prostitutes and not Tawaif in Heera Mandi. The Tawaif mostly extinguished by 1850s-1900s. The Tawaifs weren’t prostitutes but a highly skilled singers, dancers and depository of arts such as poems etc.
Courtesan meaning - Word forms: plural courtesans. In former times, a courtesan was a woman who had sexual relationships with rich and powerful men for money. Synonyms: mistress, prostitute, kept woman, paramour [old-fashioned]
@kittygirl_thetortie498 maybe in English and in Europe, but Tawaif and Vaishya were different, as explained by OP. The Europeans were the ones who made tawaifs into vaishyas.
Being a man myself, I have a question for the menfolk, did women really volunteer or enjoy being a part of this trade? Or was it a system created by us men that pushed women into doing this?
As a women I can say that women never cherish but at the British and nawab era people suffered so much to live an ordinary life and were so forced to pay taxes and left little money . But also in that time tawaif lived in good condition than normal people so they didn't feel joy but this type of life they chose was easy and their work was respected before the time comes when nawab want them for something
The earliest record of this trade dates back to when a bunch of priests started it. Yes, there is a % of women who got into this trade by their own wish but I wonder if there was no poverty would these women still choose to work as sex workers because they keep saying : 'it feels like a trap now'. The rest % of women who are in this trade are victims or born in this hell and ultimately, dragged into it irrespective of their wish. About heeramandi, I think it was a golden cage for tawaifs. They could put food on their plate but at the cost of their freedom and self respect. Once I read what a prostitute had said : ' it's better I sell my body and live, than die because I couldn't buy my diabetes medicine. ' So let it be tawaifs in past or now, they never had a choice. And ultimately, everything sums up to one thing : red light area exists because of men and poverty.
Thank God, you as a man asked this question..... I appreciate it. Otherwise no man would dare to think about it.... See the modern man who rapes , abuses, eve-teases, makes a woman uncomfortable anyway possible....
@@s-s08array yaar leave these people they don’t want to see good Indian art they are here just to criticise no matter what, these people deserve saas bahu serials only. Instead of appreciating they just criticise.
@@s-s08 Richa had the same shade as Sonakshi 🙄. The series set and costume design was indeed gorgeous. The issue i have with the series is that they have glorified the life of courtesans and made them fit the bill of modern day glamorous women in regards to their appearances and the social issues they faced.
From what I have read about the pre-independence or even few years prior to that was that these women were not prostitutes. They were learned women, well read and well trained in music and dance and would do just that for the rich and affluent people. In fact, the rich would even send their children to learn these art forms from these women. The women themselves were rich and respected. It is the Britishers came and changed everything and destroyed this culture reducing the stature of these women to prostitutes. Sadly. These photographs seem to be of the post independence era. By that time, a lot had changed.
These pictures are post independence, when the scene had lost its charm just like shown in the series.. the web series is about pre independence where heera Mandi had the riches n it's charm
@@Knknkn9595 nope,devadasi were respected in very olden days, they became call girls during monarchy rules much before British arrival.especially priest of temples exploited them.
They were given a status equal to Nawabs and the 1 tawayaf of Lahore had given Rs 15,000 to Gandhiji for helped him in being a freedom fighter. This is a real story, history tv also talk about this, in movie her character was bibbojan@@ThamizhiAaseevagar
@@Adeeba-Aizaz I am a dancer myself so I have read enough of books about history and specially with regards to my subject. Maybe you need to read more than just what your history school syllabus taught you. There are many unheard voices and stories from the Indian Freedom struggle that are waiting to be heard, but unfortunately they have been unrecognized.
@@aartiraghuram5295 I've read as much as I can but it's not something learning through movies or dramas, In today's era everything is not visibly capturized in movies and some voices r left unheard and not payed attention, In order to know real history we must need to approach towards books
To all people who are these ladies "ugly" and how they were shown so beautiful in the movie, ask yourself will you be able to handle a "ugly" person being lead actor in any movie???
These pictures are from a much later decade from what is shown in the movie, in the movie its much before the independence at that time there was more opulance after independence it reduced to this state, in movie also its shown that once th freedom struggle started heeramandi lost its old world charm due to tawaifs being involved in freedom struggle
@@StarlightndustHeeramandi is set in the mid-1940s, Mallikajaan's youth is set in the late 10s and early 20s and the main parts are set 26 years later. 😊
Guys..... these pictures are probably taken during British era... where Heera mandi was turned into red light area from a cultural institution. During Mughal period, Heeramandi was named after Hira Singh, the prime minister of Lahore (in the reign of Ranjit Singh). During Mughal Empire, heeramandi was epitome of culture and traditions where courtesan and their families were masters in classical music and dance and art. Courtesan had huge respect in the society but later degraded due to British impact. (Heeramandi Series is set in the era of Mughal period). So don't compare the series with British era Heeramandi.!
Yes for Indian every bad thing is becoz of British...come out of this mentality.These institutions were made only for the purpose of entertainment of kings of that time..that involved physical exploitation too..there are so many videos on RU-vid where they are making Britishers responsible for all of this...but reality is that they were for the purpose of exploitation from the very beginning...I know your information is copied from those videos only...
@@aneiy as humans they have the right to be respected as a person...so i dont see as to why it is a big deal to show basic courtesy to someone whos life is as important and valuable as ours.
@@lmao.nits11 the statement "if they are human we need to respect them" is utterly nonsense! Will you respect a thief, a rapist, a killer etc. They are also human na People should be respected on their work on their nature not because they are just humans!
@@SgianHasiihe destroyed plot of bajirao , mastani was never that big part of bajiro's life nor his end was like that he was a powerfull undefeated general
Why Bollywood so much promotes this type of culture now days...means what youths learning from this kind of culture and I'm shocked now it's trending also 🥺
Brother they have shown the contribution of those unsung tawayebs(Dancers)of heeramandi in our freedom fight, whom society looks in very disrespectful manner because they do sex work...pls before criticizing go and watch once.. you will definitely goona love it..😊
Yes now a days bollywood only make this type of movies, i don't know why they make this type of movies, which is not messages to related reality of life to young generations.
Originally before independence they were dancers not prostitutes..they later started sleeping with the english to get information which helped us get independence
Who were the original founders and actors and singers....a little walk down historical lane will tell you it was from the tawaif culture... so ofc thy gona glamourise it and hide how brutal it must hve been.
I don't know mene ye series nhi dekhi hai per mujhe bahut rona aa rha hai ye dekh ke ...my heart wrenching ...hurting .. paining ..so much pain after this..kitne mushkilo se azadi li or kya bna dya hai aaj hamne Bharat ko
@ishasiddiqui7217 pakistan humse jyada develop hora ? You have got to be kidding me. No offense to pakistan, but bro, are you living under a rock? Konsi duniya me reh rahe ho tum?
Mughals used to love eunuch, the life of eunuch was very very tough how they have lived in Mughal era the pain they suffered salute to them they have a worst life in Asia, in us before male a female eunuch get more respect when it comes to God.
@@kim54688 thanks for atleast recognising trans ppl as skilled.....and understanding their talent along with cis women who worked their...transwomen are present even in heeramandi.....I am really shocked🙂
Bro this is lahore. Mostly all of them were fair skinned. They look dark skinned only in the photos and it seriously does not matter what the skin colour was.
Why people are not focusing over the concept that whether if they were tawaifs they helped in providing funds to freedom fighters.... Azaad Hindustan ka khi na khi 1% hi shi credit unko bhi jata h...
Yeh harsh reality hai.... heeramandi is not a fairytale castle with queens and princesses....it was a bizzare place for the women that time which is shown in the reel
There is a huge difference between tawaifs and prostitutes.. People are confused because bollywood did that. Tawaifs are not prostitues, they were highly educated well behaved ladies who are highly qualified in gazals, poems, well mannered women who are dancers and entertained the nawabs.. Prostitues are borned by britishers who used them, they started sale them for their soldiers. Tawaifs never did these work infacts nawabs send their children to them to learn atticates. These photos are mixed before Independence and before of Independence which shows declines and richness of twaifs at the same time.
Sir Bhansali ji is like a king of khajuraho temple. He was born and brought up in red light and closely observed the pains and art of it. He is great man, a very positive personality and simple but perfectionist. Devdas dekhlo
Ye bhi hamare samaj ka ek hissa hai or jo kotha nhi jate vo rape karte hai kyuki unke pass paise nhi hote kothe Jane kebhi or ladkiya kam nhi hai unke liye ladko ka kotha khul Jaye to vobhi jaye voto unko free ka mil jata hai friends with benefits ka maja to kya jarurat Jame ki 😅
@@Ruchimakeover24Heeramandi ko glorify karne waley mughals ke hindu aurato ke saath kar rahey forced sex slavery ko glorify kar rahey hai. Have some shame. They are not happy living that life. No woman is happy living as a sex slave but ye movie directors mughals ke hindu sex slaves ke lives ko glorify karne baithe hai. Mughals were always the worst thing happened to Hindus and Bharat. Kitna bhi false glorify karne dekh lo. A part of current and 90s generation jave fallen into the leftist liberandu brainwashed trap where take these things casually and even atand against their own hindu community which fights against mughals britishers and their atrocities on hindus just as it fits their brainwashed modern mindsets. Shame on such hindus. Shame on such Bharatiyas
Ye humara samaj aur culture ka hissa nahi hai. Inhe aisa life inpe force kiya gaya hai. Apologies for saying this but with due resect, Kya aap ek sex slave banke rehna pasand karogi?? It's a shame you say this is a art of our samaj. We don't despise(hate) the people who were forced to work as sex slaves but we despise those who forced them into sex slavery, who enjoy their sex slavery, who use them just for sex. The hindu women are beautiful but they did not deserve to be forced into sex slavery, they did not deserve to be sold to muslims and some scum hindus who relished their own people getting sold and putting their dignities on sale.
The fact is inicially HM was a place of art culture and glory but with British invasion things started to fall. These pictures were at the verge of fall of HM by then all art and glory drained. Infact Maharaja Ranjit singh wife Moran Sarkar was from HM around 1850s So before these British rascals came the situation was glamorous
Sanjay bansali’s heroines in a brothel are celebrates like beauties and living a life of luxury. These photos show the real pain behind each woman’s life in a different world and insides of a brothel 😢
@@Sarahhadid123 Depends on exotic dancers, if anyone like any dancer, they would ask for it and then if dancer is interested, its her decision. Ofcourse they are very talented, but some of them used to be home destroyers.
@@Sarahhadid123 they were mostly..... Mistresses of the nawab or rajas. And Yes before Britishers invaded us they were mistresses. Don't get inspired by these people. You can say rakhail of rajkumars and nawabs.
@@36rishikasinha43 Oh wow. So you judge these women based on their sex life with multiple men... What about those so-called "rajas", "nawabs" and "rajkumars" then? They literally slept with these women (multiple women) and yet they're given all the respect whereas these women are treated like a $h!t for the same reason? Hypocrisy much? I believe those men are the one who belonged to streets. No wonder it's a patriarchal dystopia we're living in! What you're feeling is internalized misogyny.
@@36rishikasinha43Well, that was their job albeit it was what brought them theircsaily bread, if you wanna call someone a home wrecker, call oit to the men who couldn't keep it in their pants. 😊
This song was written in the honour of beauty of spring season, it literally describes the blooming mustard in fields nd other aesthetics of spring season 🌼 It was just sang in the court of nizamuddin....
@enlightedsoul Didi tab AAP bhi nah hoti.......😂😂😂. Ye jagat nah hota.....Apni pseudo feminism har jagah mt use kara karo. Dimag bhi use kar liya karo kbhi kbhi. Dono ( male female ) jaruri hai
They all are beautiful , camera and the way pic is captured matter most some faces are beautiful but not photogenic they were tawaif’s not model, bhansali just had to show the dresses shalwar kamiz instead of garara’s
Heeramandi is a masterpiece they show the critic and art of india ..those freedom fighters..lots of people who sacrifice for their nation have no clue ... We need much more to show solidarity or them who sacrifice everything for independent india
@@zubaidakhan3795they were part of society, not the society. The series seems to be some fictional nonsense. It neither highlighted their plight nor showed facts.
That's not about being beautiful Tawaifs were highly respected artists They were fantastic dancers as wells as singers Even high nobles would send their children to learn from them
@@muskanchauhan9794fr aajkl kuch logo ko bss bkchodi maarni hi aati hh history pdho bhai and feel proud.. jo tum apni puri zindagi mein nhi kr paoge na voh ye log apni jaan aur izzat pr khel kr krte the
And Bollywood glamourised it, all the sufferings these women went through, So much pain that equals a dark chapter in south asian history and at least not to be portrayed as bhansali’s lust have pictured it
No it is about role of those women who were abused harshly and valued freedom the most .. all respect to their free souls they broke every societal chain with their sacrifice to free a country that did not grant them freedom even afterwards the colonialism coz heeramandi lasted till today
If I am not wrong they were showing early revolutionary era in the show, this is almost a decade. Not saying that it’s not glamorized but heramandi was supposed to be home to some of the richest women in Lahore at the time
It is a pity and a shame that such capable directors as SLB has glorified and romantisized the most shameful and harsh reality of our society in such a manner that we are almost in love with the seriel Heeramandi. A real shame. Hei should have used his skill in such a manner that Heeramandi should have shaken our souls. Very sad indeed .
Documentary was shown in the Uk,on BBC TV in 1991,Dancing Girls of Lahore.Attractive women were interviewed,behind the scenes of the community,back when most people had no knowledge of Heeramandi. Netflix tv show has created lot more awareness in people,of the Lahore Red light area of yesteryear.
@@sumanabhattacharya8115 bhai problem soch ki nhi internet ne inhe chhapri bnaya hai they think they will look cool and intellect while saying this rubbish comment on internet the series was fantastic what a set building hollywood level hats off to director
I’m convinced the people who are criticising SLB’s take on the red light district are the ones who get off on women’s pain. We know these women suffered at the hands of their patrons, what good is it to put in on the screen? I think it’s more important to show how these women clung to their strength, that is also part of reality. But people don’t want reality, they just want women to be perfect victims with nothing but suffering and despair.
Pehle k jamane me toh rehte hi the pehen k. Apna status maintain krna padta tha, kaise Raja, Rani heere jewraat pehen k baith the the waise hi yeh v rehti hongi, yeh pictures Jo dikhaya gaya hain yeh toh bohot baad ki photos hain, Independence ki baad ki, is daur tak toh Tawaifon ka daur khatam ho chuka tha, yeh toh red light area ki Kuch jhalki hain, bas.
Why all of a sudden heermandi is getting so much popularity remember guys instead of feeling bad we are actually enjoying May Allah guide us all this is very alarming
Heeramandi is fantasized as well as glamorized but what about University's like Takshashila,do they not deserve movie on their name.But the highly educated urduwood can't even think of it.
