Who said that Mujras are Held in all Homes in Punjab??????If you are pointing towards my Statement then I only said Mujra is not part of Urdu Speaking Culture and thats all when did I mentioned Punjabi Specifically?????
I was refering to Waseem Akhtar's statement. By the way what is Urdu speaking culture? You can read all about Mujras...................
Mujra is a form of
dance originated by
tawaif (
courtesans) during the
Mughal era. Muslim woman would be dance in exotic ways. Mujra incorporated elements of the native classical
Kathak dance onto music such as
thumris and
ghazals or poems of those from other
Mughal cultures such as
Bahadur Shah Zafar.
[1] Mujra was traditionally performed at
mehfils and in special houses called
kothas. During
Mughal rule in India, in places such as
Jaipur, the tradition of performing mujra was a family art and often passed down from mother to daughter amongst Muslim practitioners. The profession was a cross-breed between art and exotic dance, with the performers often serving as courtesans amongst
Mughal royalty or wealthy patrons.
During the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 mujra performances provided an opportunity for revolutionaries to meet and many tawaif were also actively involved in the movement. As a result, many kothas were confiscated by the British after the rebellion, disrupting the traditional tawaif succession.
[2] By the early 1900s, many tawaif had moved into the prostitution industry as the traditional system had broken down. Some tawaif moved to the Indian film and music industry like
Gauhar Jaan and
Nargis.
[3]
Modern mujra dancers perform at events like weddings, birthday events and bachelor parties in countries where traditional
Mughal culture is prevalent, such as Pakistan, often performing a modern form of mujra along with popular local music. Mujra has been depicted in
Indian films like
Umrao Jaan and
Devdas or other films that show the past Mughal rule and its culture. In India, it is - much like bellydancing is in Egypt - considered synonymous with the culture it originated from, and in relation to Hindu values, this practice is looked down upon as a promiscuous and inappropriate socio-cultural hangover from the Mughal era.