Tawaifs: The Stories We Stopped Telling

Have you ever wondered about the stories that get left behind?

History often feels like a collection of dates, rulers, and milestones. But its most meaningful truths usually live elsewhere, in the voices we were taught to forget, overlook, or silence.

For centuries, the Tawaifs were at the heart of artistic and cultural life in North India. They were not merely performers. They were accomplished poets, dancers, musicians, and custodians of tehzeeb — a refined social and cultural grace. Within their salons, they held power, agency, and autonomy. They chose their paths, shaped cultural taste, and owned their voices.

Yet as society shifted, those voices were gradually pushed into the shadows.

A Turning Point in the Silence

What changed?

Colonial rule, combined with evolving ideas of morality, transformed how these women were perceived. Independence and artistic authority were no longer admired but judged. The same women once celebrated as cultural leaders were now labelled and shamed.

To survive, many were forced to hide their histories. Their art, once public and respected, became something whispered about or erased altogether. What was once a living tradition slowly turned into silence.

This is where Desire Without Apology begins.

The exhibition acts as a bridge back to that forgotten world. It listens for echoes of women who lived with confidence, skill, and self-awareness. Women who refused to apologise for their desires, their work, or their existence.

Why Their Story Matters Now

Revisiting the history of the Tawaifs is not simply about looking backwards. It asks a deeper question of the present: In our pursuit of being “modern” and “respectable,” what parts of ourselves have we been taught to hide?

Female desire, expression, and agency have long been distorted or suppressed. The legacy of these women reminds us that culture is not static or confined to museums. It lives through courage, expression, and the freedom to exist fully.

Like a song that refuses to fade, their story invites us to step out of inherited silences. To acknowledge our histories, our desires, and our truths without shame and without apology.

By remembering them, we are not only honouring their art. We are allowing a forgotten part of our collective soul to breathe again, recognising that desire, spontaneous and authentic, is a natural and vital part of being human.