Celebrating Islamicate Culture
It was a chance to pull out the shimmering ghararas and heavy jewelry and go royal for a day. Well, the Manhattan Mughals and nawabs made it out to Bombay Palace’s K Lounge not by horse carriage or on the backs of elephants – probably by a more mundane car, taxi or subway! The mujrawalis or dancing courtesans, the sharab and kabab (wine and rich eats) however were all there for an evening of hedonistic pleasures.
The event, Mughal Court, was organized by the Indo-American Arts Council as the launch party for ‘Social Dramas & Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema’, a film festival by the Film Society of Lincoln Center at the Walter Reade Theater which includes such epics as ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, ‘Pakeezah’ and ‘Jodhaa Akbar’. There was also a book signing for ‘Islamicate Cultures of Bombay Cinema’ by Ira Bhaskar and Richard Allen, who have also curated the fascinating mix of fourteen films which show the influence of Muslim culture and social traditions on Bombay cinema.
The relaxed evening of socializing, feasting and drinking was punctuated with some beautiful mujra performances, not unlike the ones the mighty Mughals must have enjoyed in the old days. Sumona Chanda performed numbers choreographed by Rujuta Vaidya, Juhi Desai’s dance was choreographed by Amit Shah, and those of the Parijat Desai Dance Company by Parijat Desai. It was a sybaritic, intimate evening and the Mughals would have been pleased. We’ll let the images do the talking.
