A dancer, singer or entertainer trained in Hindustani classical music, ghazals, dance forms such as Kathak, literature and shayari (poetry). They were also considered to be experts in etiquette and catered primarily to Mughal and Nawabi nobility and courtiers in Northern India. From the Hindi and Urdu word tavayaf, meaning “courtesan.”
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Composed of two parts — paryanka, meaning "bed" or "couch", and asana meaning "pose" –– it is a yoga pose…
A form of dance codified in the Natyashastra, an ancient treatise on the performing arts. The tandava carries divine associations,…
A single-handed gesture in South Asian iconography in which the palm is stretched out and downwards from the wrist, with…
Meaning “clap" in Sanskrit, it is a measure of rhythm or metre in South Asian musical traditions. It works in…
An alternate name to describe the anandatandava, the cosmic dance of Nataraja, a form of the Hindu deity, Shiva.
A term used for female dancers who performed nautch (a dance related to Kathak, Dasi Attam and folk dances) at…
A theatre in Chennai constructed in 1896 by the British as a replica of London's Globe Theatre and synthesised in…
Bishnupriya Dutt (b. n.d.) is an Indian scholar of theatre studies and performance arts, as well as a professor and…