The character of Meena in Bol, in certain ways symbolises the transition of the Courtesan (Tawāif) culture of Lucknow to the present day prostitution in Lahore. In the backdrop of the decline of the Mughal Empire in the middle of the eighteenth century, the Tawāifs were an elite female group particularly from North India and were considered very noble. As the Mughal power moved from Delhi to courts of the Nawabs in places like Oudh and Hyderabad, the Tawaifs were patronised by influential nobles. Young nawabs were often sent to these Tawāifs to learn "Tamīz ō Tehzīb" since the courtesans were highly trained in literature, dancing and singing and their kothas were considered places of high culture. Their purpose was to entertain their guests through dancing (mujrās), singing and reciting poetry (ghazals), sex was not necessarily a part of this. The courtesans were well-off financially which was evident in the fact that they payed the highest amount of taxes in the regions where they resided according to British tax records.
The decline to this courtesan culture came with the annexation of Lucknow, the capital of Oudh, in 1856. The British punished them for being involved in the mutiny of 1857 and financially supporting the rebels. The Tawāifs were declared prostitutes by the British. Today the Tawāifs as an institution have almost vanished and those who fancy calling themselves Tawāifs are just common prostitutes and have rarely anything in common with the courtesans of time past, like Meena in Bol. Meena though likes to believe and tries her best to show herself as a cultured woman who knows poetry and possesses the necessary "nāz ō nakhrā" of the North Indian courtesan but in reality she is a prostitute who has learnt all of this through the film 'Pakīzāh.' She in a manner also shows some kind of longing for the past. The moment she abuses in Punjabi the person who comes to call on him while she was with Hakīm Sāhib, there is a sudden realization that she exists in the present day Punjabi milieu.
The decline to this courtesan culture came with the annexation of Lucknow, the capital of Oudh, in 1856. The British punished them for being involved in the mutiny of 1857 and financially supporting the rebels. The Tawāifs were declared prostitutes by the British. Today the Tawāifs as an institution have almost vanished and those who fancy calling themselves Tawāifs are just common prostitutes and have rarely anything in common with the courtesans of time past, like Meena in Bol. Meena though likes to believe and tries her best to show herself as a cultured woman who knows poetry and possesses the necessary "nāz ō nakhrā" of the North Indian courtesan but in reality she is a prostitute who has learnt all of this through the film 'Pakīzāh.' She in a manner also shows some kind of longing for the past. The moment she abuses in Punjabi the person who comes to call on him while she was with Hakīm Sāhib, there is a sudden realization that she exists in the present day Punjabi milieu.
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