The author presents a commentary on the portrayal of `nautch girls' in Urdu novel. In a discussion on Mirza Hadi Ruswa's Umrao Jan Ada, hasan Shah's Fasana-e Rangin, Quratulain hyder's Gardish-e Rang-e Chaman, Sa'adat Hasan Manto's "Mozail", and Ghulam 'Abbas' "Anandi," Raza Rumi analyzes these major fiction works by rehabilitating them in a continuum of an important theme in Urdu literature—the theme of confident, empowered, and highly intelligent female characters who appear in the public sphere.