Many people believe that nautch girls were originally "Devadasis" who performed traditional dances at the Hindu Temples. However, no conclusive evidence is found to support this claim. The dancing girls became very popular during 1830 when the Mughal and Lucknavi rulers patronized this form of dance. Later, officials of the East India Company supported the nautch dancers. Usually, these dancing girls wore bright colored flowing dresses and had their hands painted with henna (a reddish brown dye used for decorating body parts during important occasions). |
