Sufi Kathak Centre, Royal Opera House, Mumbai, and Avid Learning present Uff Malka Jaan & The Velvet Courtesans!, an enigmatic evening of Darbari Kathak that revives the rich heritage of the courtesans and restores their rightful status as artists in a never before seen theatrical production in Mumbai.

Courtesans were the muses for poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and creative thought at large. Over time, they were stigmatized and discriminated against by society, leaving their history out of the archives. 

To restore their due reverence and rightful status, Kathak Dancer and Founder of the Sufi Kathak Foundation Manjari Chaturvedi, under her banner The Courtesan Project presents Uff Malka Jaan & The Velvet Courtesans. It chronicles the historically remarkable role of the ‘tawaif’ in aesthetic life. The spectacle recreates the bygone era through Manjari’s dance of the royal performers, and theatrical story-telling by Actor Neesha Singh and Dastango Nusrat Ansari. This enigmatic evening of Darbari Kathak through its exquisite emotions, gestures, expressions, and costumes will redefine the meaning of ‘courtesan’ for you.  

Join us for the well-researched cultural production dedicated to the grandeur, grace, and struggle of the courtesans brought alive by the splendour of stories, music, and dance in the perfect setting, ethereal, yet real. 

About the Artists

Manjari Chaturvedi is a Classical Dancer, Director, Choreographer, TedX Speaker and Cultural Academic.Among the 300 concerts that she has performed in 20 years, a few prestigious venues include the Symphony Space, New York City, Judith Wright Centre For Performing Arts – Brisbane, Sydney Opera House, Australia, National Gallery Of Victoria, Australia, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi and Parliament House, New Delhi. She is the leading exponent of classical dance in India. Her productions as a dancer are projects that are meticulously researched and documented; it includes gender sensitive subjects that through her medium of dance, explores the many traditions woven into poetry and music. Under the banner of the Sufi Kathak Foundation she supports similar research and encourages marginal artists to participate in dissemination of their art. She has been the part of the Sufi Symposium at the prestigious Smithsonian Museum Washington D.C. and of the conference on Living heritage by UNESCO and is the Jury and member of “Think Tank on Asian dance” for the prestigious Asian Dance Committee in Korea.

Neesha Singh is an actress, who started her career as a successful model. She did a few acclaimed Hindi films, notably M.S Sathyu's 'Kahan Kahan Se Guzar Gaye", Sagar Sarhadi's "Bazaar" & N. Chandra's "Ankush", before making a decision to move to television, where she had a long, successful acting career. On television, she has worked with well-known names like Shyam Benegal among others. She has had starring roles in popular television serials like "Bharat Ek Khoj", "Choli Daman", "Upanyaas", "Kathasagar", "Kashmakash" & in the 1st Indian made English television serial, "A Mouthful of Sky". She has also hosted long-running, successful shows like "Mansi" & Rangoli. Neesha Singh had the leading role of Rani Jindan Kaur, widow of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in Gursharan Das's play “Larins Sahib”. Directed by Rahul D'cunha, it was the 1st Indian play in English that was invited to be showcased at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. 

Nusrat Ansari comes from Lucknow and moved to Delhi to complete her graduation in History from Lady Shri Ram College. She then went on to pursue her Masters in Development Policy from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Currently, she is working in the social sector with the Education Initiatives. Her profound interest in heritage and culture and her curiosity to explore the Urdu language brought her to Dastangoi. It was during her graduation that for the first time ever, she witnessed a Dastangoi performance and was completely mesmerized by it, she decided to pursue this art and has since been associated with it. For her, dastangoi is not just a performing art but a way of life. She feels that it is a lifelong journey of learning and a path to explore the unexplored.