Talk by Prof. lalit Joshi

On 6th September, 2018 Professor Lalit Joshi,  from the University of Allahabad and a well known Film historian gave a very scholarly talk in the University of Hyderabad on, "Recasting the Courtesan",  in a programme coordinated by the Centre for Women's studies and the Department of History. Prof. Joshi traced back the history of the tawaif and explained how the representation of the Tawaif change through the course of History with paintings, Texts, Photography and finally the Cinema. He described the world of the tawaif, the spaces that they occupied and spoke of the   male gaze. He also looked back at the long history where from the repositories of art,culture ,   etiquette, music and dance,  they were slowly getting converted into prostitutes, through the various laws that were passed and he highlighted the role of the Colonial state and the refashioning of a new patriarchy. A very interesting talk that lead to a lot of discussion. The  students of my optional course on,  Women's History must have benefited a lot from this talk, that discussed the tawaif both in North, South and East India.