Portrait of Mah Laqa Chanda

Chanda Bibi, a woman so beautiful that she was given the name Mah Laqa, meaning "moon-faced". She was the daughter of a courtesan and was a sought-after courtesan herself. Despite this, she was included in the ranks of the highest nobility and had 500 foot soldiers and drummers to announce her entrance. Her elevated status, despite all odds, was such that the tawaifs (courtesans) across Hyderabad ascended to the top of the hierarchy among performers and were given special privileges. Mah Laqa Chanda was a powerhouse who was at once, both a hardened warrior and a graceful performer; a wily politician and a kind-hearted woman who gave away all her possessions to homeless women upon her death.