Home

"The Dying Song" - Play On Indian Courtesan Tradition In UK

(0 votes, average: 0 out of 5)

An Indian play, known as “The Dying Song”, which highlighted various aspects of the Courtesan tradition followed in India in the olden days, was a big hit at a famous hall in the UK - the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

This event made Asian culture as well as music very popular internationally as various media reports mentioned the favorable response of the appreciative attendees towards the play’s historical nuances so brilliantly portrayed through music and dance performances of skilled artists.

The event was described by media critics as “a superb musical theatre experience which helped in keeping the slowly fading art called Baithak Thumri alive” and revived memories of ancient mansions where the Tawa’if once performed.

Rumor has it that the play will be repeated soon which only time can prove to be right or wrong. Till then, the only possible thing that one can do to keep memories of dying Indian classical art alive is following our updates regularly.

The Baithak Thumri, which is like the form of a romantic song, is a mixture of old folk traditions and classical music on stage and it is extremely old. Its arts origins can be traced back to the Vaisnav movement, where Krishna was worshiped via dancing and singing. From there, it is believed to have passed on to the Havelis (mansions), during the Mughal period and finally coming to Lucknow during the 19th century. It has womanly themes dealing in love and loss, which are shown after managing decorations with inspirational mimic acts called Abhinaya.

The Dying Song takes place in a huge mansion and has a versatile star cast where the narrator plays the role of a refined Nawab who has a daughter called Champa. The famous singer, Bireshwar Gautam, plays the role of Suraiya, the hermaphrodite.

The play is actually inspired by a Marathi Novel written by C T Khanolkar, which was later translated by famous film historian Sangeeta Datta. TAWA’IF, which was a documentary regarding the Indian courtesan tradition; this became a hit in London last summer and was shown before the play began.

The Dying Song is said to be a perfect illustration of how the Indian courtesan tradition was. Its superb drama and music spread like fire to all countries of the world starting from London. Its cross gender views spread to Brighton and Cornwall as well.

The Dying Song is a play, which salutes the hermaphrodite artist who showed the audience expressively what the Indian courtesan tradition was like. The Asian Music Circuit produced the play.

Rajesh Joshi working for Hindi BBC was one of the narrators. Pervaiz Alam accompanied by Pratima Chatterjee were the other narrators. Both are senior journalists.

Comments