Azizun Nisa: A Tawaif at Night, A Jasoos in Day

The war for independence that took place in 1857 unveiled the unstoppable and indestructible courage of freedom fighters who were ready to sacrifice everything for their motherland. But little does history remember of a dancing girl who lived a double life - a tawaif at night, a jasoos in the day.

Azizun Nisa; Image Source: The Statesman

Indian history has always been unfair in giving women their credit. Be it their participation in India’s freedom struggle or their unspoken contribution to developing India as a democratic nation, many parts of their lives remain unheard. Within this paradigm, the tawaifs in India have received a worse reputation despite their ingenious contributions to the freedom struggle.

Known as naikins in Goa, devadasis in the South, tawaifs in the North, and baijis in Bengal, these professional entertainers who used to sing and dance to amuse the high-class society, were monikered as “nautch girls” during the British rule. Soon their profession was transformed into prostitution in the 19th century. This was why their contribution to Indian classical art vanished into thin air, and their tales did not find their rightful mention in the pages of Indian history.

In his book ‘Nautch Girls of India: Dancers, Singers, Playmates’, historian, and author Pran Nevile has described how the tawaifs of North India reached the zenith of power, influence, money, and fame and were considered the sole spokesperson of Indian art and culture. In fact, many of the noble families would send their sons to these tawaifs to learn tehzeeb or etiquette and “the art of conversation.”

One such tawaif comes from the streets of Kanpur, the city that held the stories of bravery and memories of famous personalities like Rani Lakshmi Bai, Tatya Tope, and Nana Saheb. With a sparkling Kundan-studded passa (jewelry worn by Muslim women) and spotless white Anarkali (a type of clothing worn by women), she stole the hearts of men with her mujra (a dance form) at her kotha (brothel).

Born to a prostitute in Lucknow in 1832, little did Azizun know that her life had all sorts of twists and turns - from falling in love with one of her aashiq (lover) to fighting on the battlefield for her motherland. A few years after her birth, her mother died, and Azizun took on the responsibilities of her mother’s kotha by declaring herself the main dancing girl. She was raised in the house of a tawaif at Satarangi Mahal, where she was trained intensively in classical arts, music, and dances. Later on, she moved to Kanpur and lived in Lurkee Mahil in Umrao Begum’s house.

In the backdrop of the 1850s, Azizun Nisa, reputed as one of the most beautiful tawaifs, had arrived in the city of Kanpur. With her graceful moves and eternal beauty, she charmed many men. A dancer at night, she had different plans during the day. A true patriot, she decided to extend her support to the freedom fighters who were trying day and night to free their motherland from the cruel clutches of Britishers. When she came to Kanpur, all she knew was that she would have to carry her mother's legacy as a courtesan. But an incident changed her life forever.

According to a play named Azizun Nisa San Sattavan Ka Kissa, written by Tripurari Sharma, one fine day, a British official came to her house. But he considered her home a brothel and Azizun, a prostitute. Humiliated by his thoughts, Azizun shouted, "Such accusations are baseless. I am not a prostitute. I am a dancer. I am an artist. I do not wear the veil, but I'm not a public woman. People in the city…acknowledge me as a courtesan, a poet, and a lyricist. I am not in the flesh trade."

Azizun was a talented artist. With rigorous training and persistence, she became a professional dancer. During those times, courtesans were the only independent women in society who earned their living. They had a variety of properties, including manufacturing and retail establishments, houses, orchards, and luxury items. Some courtesans earned so much that they were often categorized in the highest tax bracket.

Though there is no exact information on how she was involved in the revolt, it is said that she used her beauty and charm to extract all the essential information from the British soldiers and pass it on to the Indian sepoys. Azizun knew the Maratha Peshwa Nana Saheb since most of his soldiers came to her mehfil to see her mujra. Inspired by Nana Saheb's unending persistence to free his motherland from the cruel clutches of the Britishers, she decided to help out the soldiers. She provided her kotha to the soldiers so that they could plan out their missions and discuss their war strategies.

When Tantya Tope came to know about Azizun, he asked her to visit the camp of the British soldiers. Azizun donned beautiful clothes and jewelry and posed as a dancer. Her real motive behind this was to extract all the essential information from the British soldiers so she could pass it on to the Indian sepoys.

Amidst this chaos, little did anyone expect that a love story would bloom and take the shape of a legend narrated until doomsday. There was a soldier named Shamsuddin Khan of the 42nd cavalry of Nana Saheb's army. Aziz's beauty captured his heart, and he fell for her. Their love story was quite a famous one during those days. Shamsuddin and Azizun often accompanied each other on missions where they were responsible for killing the firangis and spying on them. One such task they jointly executed is etched in the golden history of famous assassinations.

One fine day, a British officer came to Azizun's kotha and bragged about how he killed a sowar or soldier of Nana Saheb's army without any reason to show his supremacy and power over the Indians. Little did he know that a ferocious woman in the kotha was listening to all his conversations, and soon he would lose his life at this woman's hands. She went and told everything to her lover, Shamsuddin, and together they decided to kill the white officer.

Being a spy, Aziz knew that the white officer went to an army club regularly at night. She and Shamsuddin wove a murder plan, a plan that was quite rare and exquisite. One evening she followed the white officer to the club and lured him into their trap by seducing him. She managed to bring the officer to a narrow lane beside the club. Shamsuddin roared like a lion on the dark road and plunged a dagger into the white officer's heart.

But a love story never starts out of the blue, does it? There was a story behind how these mutineers were born. Stay tuned to know how their love story began in the streets of Kanpur.