Audio only
The Last Courtesan
Writing My Mother's MemoirBy Manish GaekwadNarrated by Ranjit Madgavkar, Richa SayalLength6h 57m
About this audiobook
The 1993 Bow Bazaar bomb blast in Calcutta brought an end to the kothas in the busy commercial district. Over the next few years, as dance bars and disco music replaced the old-world charm of mujras, kathak and thumri, the tawaifs began to abandon the profession. Rekhabai, a courtesan, found herself at a crossroads, facing an uncertain future. Where should she go? What should she do next?
Originally from the Kanjarbhat tribe, Rekhabai was sold and trained as a tawaif while she was still a child. In the 1980s, when kothas were no longer recognized as centres for aesthetics, and society disapproved of the tawaif's art, as they felt it was sex work in the guise of adakari (performance), Rekhabai made a name for herself in Calcutta and Bombay as a singing-dancing star. It was an era when she had to dodge guns, goons and Ghalib's ghazals to carve out her own destiny, provide for her large family and raise her son in an English-medium boarding school.
In this poignant memoir, she narrates the unbelievable story of her survival to her son with candour, grace and humour, never missing a beat and always full of heart.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (175)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreBiography and Memoir, Psychology
Length6 hrs 57 mins
Narrated byRanjit Madgavkar, Richa Sayal
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJul 23, 2025
LanguageEnglish
More from Manish Gaekwad
The Way of RoninTu Lam12h 9m4.9 (1.3K)$29 · $0.00
Matters of the HeartJacinta Nampijinpa Price9h 35m4.8 (359)$29 · $0.00
How to Test Negative for StupidJohn Kennedy8h 13m4.7 (9.7K)$28 · $0.00
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m4.7 (2.8K)$24 · $0.00
Send MeMarty Skovlund, Joe Kent8h 10m4.7 (1.6K)$26 · $0.00
John Muir: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth & Letters to a Friend (Annotated)John Muir10h 13m4.7 (1.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Invisible StormJason Kander6h 48m4.7 (3.2K)$24 · $0.00
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Evidence Not SeenDarlene Deibler Rose11h 11m4.6 (11.9K)$29 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
Will You Love Me?Cathy Glass9h 5m4.6 (9.3K)$29 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
HostageEli Sharabi5h 25m4.6 (10.8K)$24 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (384)$20 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Lives of BrianBrian Johnson9h 45m4.6 (3.5K)$29 · $0.00
What to Make of a LifeJim Collins13h 31m4.4 (793)$33 · $0.00
Matters of the HeartJacinta Nampijinpa Price9h 35m4.8 (359)$29 · $0.00
Black AF HistoryMichael Harriot15h 43m4.7 (14.6K)$33 · $0.00
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m4.7 (2.8K)$24 · $0.00
Invisible StormJason Kander6h 48m4.7 (3.2K)$24 · $0.00
I Am The StormJanice Dean9h4.6 (1.5K)$8 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
TerraformPropaganda5h 39m4.7 (594)$24 · $0.00
Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases (Annotated)Ida B. Wells-Barnett2h 44m4.6 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
Hour of the HeartIrvin D. Yalom, Benjamin Yalom8h 19m4.6 (2.3K)$26 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
Level UpRob Dial7h 42m4.6 (3.3K)$26 · $0.00
As a JewSarah Hurwitz8h 36m4.6 (1.2K)$26 · $0.00
Burn the HaystackJennie Young, PhD9h 30m4.6 (543)$29 · $0.00
Woman and the New Race (Annotated)Margaret Sanger6h 30m4.6 (1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Good InsideBecky Kennedy9h 55m4.5 (59.3K)$29 · $0.00
Du Bois: EssaysW.E.B. Du Bois6h 22m4.6 (1.5K)$1 · $0.00
The North American Indian (Illustrated Edition)Edward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge5h 59m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Valley of the BirdtailAndrew Stobo Sniderman, Douglas Sanderson10h 1m4.6 (2.4K)$29 · $0.00
Lies My Therapist Told MeGreg E. Gifford9h 3m4.6 (503)$29 · $0.00
You may also like
Sex ObjectJessica Valenti4h 6m3.8 (16K)$20 · $0.00
Dirty Little SecretsJoy King8h 13m4.1 (1.3K)$20
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisHonoree Fanonne Jeffers29h 49m4.5 (58K)$8 · $0.00
ScarMargo7h 3m4.2 (1.5K)$20
The Teller of SecretsBisi Adjapon11h 14m4.0 (2.2K)$29 · $0.00
Where Is the Mango Princess?Cathy Crimmins8h 21m4.1 (3.6K)$20 · $0.00
Gem & DixieSara Zarr5h 45m3.8 (3K)$24 · $0.00
The Sisters ChaseSarah Healy9h 29m3.8 (6.2K)$20
The Half of ItMadison Beer3h 53m4.2 (10.4K)$20 · $0.00
Can I SayTravis Barker10h 35m4.2 (8.2K)$23
The Polygamist’s DaughterAnna LeBaron8h 54m4.2 (4.3K)$20
The Art of UsJulie Wright7h 45m4.3 (526)$23
Black BeautyAnna Sewell5h 31m4.2 (322.9K)$4 · $0.00
Jane EyreCharlotte Brontë21h 50m4.3 (2.6M)$4 · $0.00
Song of the SparrowTara MacLean10h 55m4.5 (314)$29 · $0.00
Sister SisterBabygirl Daniels3h 26m4.5 (463)$15
In the WorldMaxim Gorky13h 44m4.2 (2.4K)$2.30
Burnt Toast Makes You Sing GoodKathleen Flinn8h 26m4.1 (3K)$20 · $0.00
HomeschooledStefan Merrill Block7h 10m3.6 (18.5K)$28 · $0.00
Oh, SalKevin Henkes1h 25m4.2 (391)$16 · $0.00