Mah Laqa Bai famed courtesan, poet, dancer

Apathy ails Mah Laqa Bai heritage tomb in Hyderabad

C R GOWRI SHANKER

Nov 6, 2016  

Mah Laqa, first woman poet to complete a "divan' in Urdu

 The tomb of Mah Laqa Bai and her mother Raj Kunwar Bai at Moulali, Hyderabad

Hyderabad: She was courtesan, poet, dancer and adviser in the courts of both the first and second Nizams, much admired for her brains as well as for her beauty by the courtiers of the time.

On the death of her mother Raj Kunwar Bai in 1792, Mah Laqa Bai built a magnificent tomb in Mughal and Rajasthani styles, and was herself buried there in 1824.

Today, the ancient tomb situated among narrow, congested bylanes, a kilometre from Moula Ali arch in the heart of the city, is in a dilapidated condition and surrounded by overflowing drains.

             Part of tomb    

In 2010, the twin tombs were renovated with money from the US Ambassador’s fund for cultural preservation, but there has been no maintenance of the property since then.

Houses, some illegal, have mushroomed all around and there is no space to park, should visitors desire to view this heritage structure. Locals though still pray at the old Chandabagh Masjid within the complex.

Mah Laqa Bai (also kno-wn as Mah Laqa Chanda) was a multifaceted personality in the courts of Nizam II and Nizam III and mesmerised kings and commoners of her era (1768-1824).

Mah Laqa Bai’s mother Raj Kunwar Bai came to Hyderabad with the court of the second Nizam when the capital of Deccan was shifted to Hyderabad from Aurangabad in 1763. She married a treasury officer in the Nizam’s administration.

She gave birth to Mah Laqa Bai after serious health problems, and after she made a pilgrimage to Moula Ali Hill to seek the blessings of Hazrat Ali on April 4, 1786. She named her daughter Chanda Bibi.

Chanda Bibi, later known as Mah Laqa Bai, learnt dance, music, and poetry and became the chief dancer at the court of Nizam II, patronised by the Nizam and his Prime Minister Aristu Jah.

                                                                 A portrait of the dancer.

Mah Laqa Bai was the first female poet to write a full divan in Urdu. 
A full divan is a collection of ghazals with at least one poem rhyming with each letter of the Urdu alphabet (36 different letters).

She was only 20 years old when Aristu Jah suggested she compile the divan. She added and revised the poems until her divan contained 125 ghazals.

Impressed by her performance at a court celebration in 1801, Nizam II raised Mah Laqa Bai to the nobility with a title befitting a royal courtesan, Mah Laqa Bai, or ‘Madame Moon-Cheek’.

He showered her with lands, grants and privileges including the right to travel in a palanquin with drummers to clear the streets, and 500 armed guards. She was given the Nizam’s Palace at Purani Haveli, in Nampally, which is now Osmania University, and the garden at Moula Ali.

His successor, the third Nizam, reaffirmed Mah Laqa Bai’s role as court dancer and noble adviser. His finance minister, Raja Chandu Lal, too admired Mah Laqa Bai and promoted her.

A Maratha noble in Hyderabad, Raja Rao Rambha, was reputedly in love with Mah Laqa Bai and built a ceremonial arch in her honour at Moula Ali hill, according to historians.