Sab Gandha Hai Par Dhandha Hai Yeh...
Shortly after my interview I ended up stuck on Juhu Beach at half past 2 in the night after a rather tipsy celebration. I had 2 options now – to take a cab at night rates and go back to the hotel in Colaba or wait for the first local at 4. Considering the 500-buck difference between the 2 decisions, I chose the latter.
It turned out to be quite an eye-opening decision to see the seedy underbelly of one of my most fav cities. Now, I was on Juhu Beach all by myself, with no one in sight in the entire beach.
Suddenly out of the shadows emerged a rather hideous looking (sometimes I wonder if it would have made a difference how she looked) lady (sense the sarcasm, people) with rather heavy make-up and extremely high heels.
“ Kya Saab, aata hai kya?” in a rather phoney pseudo-seductive tone
Ok, now I have seen these incidents innumerable times on television and through hearsay and I always figured, that though I would refuse, I would do it in a very James-Bondish manner.
But something in that entire milieu of an empty beach and darkness filled my mind with something I never expected – Fear. Now, I know what’s going through everyone’s mind. How many guys are actually afraid of women propositioning to them, even if it’s for money?
Blame on my middle class upbringing or on the moonless night, I was shaken.
“I speak English also, Sir”
She could speak all the Languages listed in the UN; it didn’t make a difference to my pulse rate.
I managed a rather vehement shake of the hand, desperate to avoid eye contact and by now very very embarrassed with my own fear, managed to break into a quick walk in the opposite direction, only my pride stopping me from breaking into a sprint.
******
Now one would think that would be enough for a night’s adventure, but of course Bombay had more to offer. I took an auto and said “24 hour Café”. I meant one of the coffee shops in Sea Princess or one of the gazillion hotels lined up on the road adjoining the beach.
Apparently it meant something else.
This time the auto guy started
“Saab, kitna time hai aapke paas”?
“Bus, yehi, 4:08 ka local pakadna hai”. - I hadn’t caught on to the tone yet. It was around 3.
“Mast chokri dikhaun saab”?
“Kya”??? - Now getting the hang of it….
“Haan saab, bilkul first class…”
“Tip Top English Speaking, Saab” – Now whats with the damn language. Did all men in Bombay seek out English speaking prostitutes????
“Boss, tum bus café chalo, please” – By now, I am a seasoned veteran and palpitations are down to a minimum. I am also amused, so I don’t interrupt his sales pitch
“Saab, inke paas mobile bhi hai saab.aap direct baat kar sakte hain” – Technology helps in improving business productivity, I have learnt in B-School
“Saab, aap bas ek baar aao saab. Uske baad chokri aapko baar baar phone karegi” –. This guy should be in sales. Talk about Customer Delight
Then he said something that chilled me to the bone
“Saab, abhi yeh fresh hain saab. Sirf 14-15 saal ki hain “
By now I have heard enough.
“Boss, tumko pata bhi hai 24 hr café kahan hai”?
“Nahin saab” – rather sheepishly
“Teek hai, mujhe station le chalo jaldi”
************
Now, bear in mind, I have trivialized the entire issue only because I think the whole transaction was done in typical Bombay fashion- professional and smooth. And because as a society we tend to very hypocritical about sex. Here there were 14 year olds being so obviously exploited and all that people could do was make a fuss about Khusboo’s reported comments in favor of pre-marital sex. Just shows the kind of double standards that Indian society has come to represent.
Now I have an interesting theory. I would like find out some facts and figures. The number of rape cases in Amsterdam. The number of AIDS cases. The figures both before and after the legalization of prostitution. If there is any evidence to support the fact that legalisation of prostitution leads to a decrease sexual abuse against women, if there’s any evidence saying that it leads to reduction in AIDS cases, we have a strong case for it, don’t we?
Lets face it; the flesh trade is not going to stop. Why not formalize it, have stringent norms imposed on working conditions, make sure no minors are involved, collect a 55% tax to be used for female literacy programs and run active AIDS awareness programs now that we have a captive audience in these centers. If it leads to a decrease in rape cases because the pervs now have a formalized outlet, we have a win-win, don’t we?
Of course such thoughts will be considered blasphemous by the moral brigade and they will continue to harass innocent kids in Meerut whilst making raunchy sex tapes involving their party presidents. But food for thought for the blogging community, whatsay?
It turned out to be quite an eye-opening decision to see the seedy underbelly of one of my most fav cities. Now, I was on Juhu Beach all by myself, with no one in sight in the entire beach.
Suddenly out of the shadows emerged a rather hideous looking (sometimes I wonder if it would have made a difference how she looked) lady (sense the sarcasm, people) with rather heavy make-up and extremely high heels.
“ Kya Saab, aata hai kya?” in a rather phoney pseudo-seductive tone
Ok, now I have seen these incidents innumerable times on television and through hearsay and I always figured, that though I would refuse, I would do it in a very James-Bondish manner.
But something in that entire milieu of an empty beach and darkness filled my mind with something I never expected – Fear. Now, I know what’s going through everyone’s mind. How many guys are actually afraid of women propositioning to them, even if it’s for money?
Blame on my middle class upbringing or on the moonless night, I was shaken.
“I speak English also, Sir”
She could speak all the Languages listed in the UN; it didn’t make a difference to my pulse rate.
I managed a rather vehement shake of the hand, desperate to avoid eye contact and by now very very embarrassed with my own fear, managed to break into a quick walk in the opposite direction, only my pride stopping me from breaking into a sprint.
******
Now one would think that would be enough for a night’s adventure, but of course Bombay had more to offer. I took an auto and said “24 hour Café”. I meant one of the coffee shops in Sea Princess or one of the gazillion hotels lined up on the road adjoining the beach.
Apparently it meant something else.
This time the auto guy started
“Saab, kitna time hai aapke paas”?
“Bus, yehi, 4:08 ka local pakadna hai”. - I hadn’t caught on to the tone yet. It was around 3.
“Mast chokri dikhaun saab”?
“Kya”??? - Now getting the hang of it….
“Haan saab, bilkul first class…”
“Tip Top English Speaking, Saab” – Now whats with the damn language. Did all men in Bombay seek out English speaking prostitutes????
“Boss, tum bus café chalo, please” – By now, I am a seasoned veteran and palpitations are down to a minimum. I am also amused, so I don’t interrupt his sales pitch
“Saab, inke paas mobile bhi hai saab.aap direct baat kar sakte hain” – Technology helps in improving business productivity, I have learnt in B-School
“Saab, aap bas ek baar aao saab. Uske baad chokri aapko baar baar phone karegi” –. This guy should be in sales. Talk about Customer Delight
Then he said something that chilled me to the bone
“Saab, abhi yeh fresh hain saab. Sirf 14-15 saal ki hain “
By now I have heard enough.
“Boss, tumko pata bhi hai 24 hr café kahan hai”?
“Nahin saab” – rather sheepishly
“Teek hai, mujhe station le chalo jaldi”
************
Now, bear in mind, I have trivialized the entire issue only because I think the whole transaction was done in typical Bombay fashion- professional and smooth. And because as a society we tend to very hypocritical about sex. Here there were 14 year olds being so obviously exploited and all that people could do was make a fuss about Khusboo’s reported comments in favor of pre-marital sex. Just shows the kind of double standards that Indian society has come to represent.
Now I have an interesting theory. I would like find out some facts and figures. The number of rape cases in Amsterdam. The number of AIDS cases. The figures both before and after the legalization of prostitution. If there is any evidence to support the fact that legalisation of prostitution leads to a decrease sexual abuse against women, if there’s any evidence saying that it leads to reduction in AIDS cases, we have a strong case for it, don’t we?
Lets face it; the flesh trade is not going to stop. Why not formalize it, have stringent norms imposed on working conditions, make sure no minors are involved, collect a 55% tax to be used for female literacy programs and run active AIDS awareness programs now that we have a captive audience in these centers. If it leads to a decrease in rape cases because the pervs now have a formalized outlet, we have a win-win, don’t we?
Of course such thoughts will be considered blasphemous by the moral brigade and they will continue to harass innocent kids in Meerut whilst making raunchy sex tapes involving their party presidents. But food for thought for the blogging community, whatsay?
posted by Sandeep at 10:05 PM
8 Comments:
An absolute and pragmatic proposition. But can be addressed only to the blogosphere or atmost, if you dare to, a local journal!
Reminds me of a quote from a recent bolly flick - " yeh kalyug hain, yahan kisi ek a takleef auron ke liye tamasha hain"
But there's a catch here. It's human tendency to always crave for the unattainable. So, if you legalize prositution people will start looking for other forms of physical pleasures which would be not only morally reprehensible but also physically barbarous like the Snuff practises prevalent in Europe.
Indian society is incomparable in its hypocrisy.
I have given this a thought too da.
However, what RED E states is quite true in that people are always striving to circumvent laws.
Do you seriously believe minors will remain unexploited just because there are rules?
Also rapists currently have access to these 'chokris', yet resort to rape. How do you explain that?
-varun
hmmm...sex comes at the bottom of maslows pyramid of needs, which means its as basic as the need for food and shelter.I dont think rapists can be compared to people who do drugs for rebellion or just to do something different.I dont think thats a motivation for rape.What will happen is rationalisation of prices or rates that happens when any activity comes above board from being illegal.
maslow's a stranger to me :)
when i mentioned breaking laws, i was not referring to rapists rather the pimps: who will definitely stock up on young girls anyway.
rates were fixed for autos. its a long time since all that has been accepted as a joke.
strategies should include the common, disgruntled individual in their scope, someone who probably has an orgasm everytime he sees a bit of white flesh somewhere da
dude even if u legalise prostitution, that still does not address paedophilia or child rape. Which is indeed the sickest form and what got u most riled up too.
well, i agree that most of the women enter prostitution by force in India. So, if u legalize prostitution, set some rules that you need to have some "license" in order to operate (i am speaking of some ideal situations here, it is tough to implement in india), those who want to enter by choice, can do by all means, but those who are forced can put forth their case. and in that way, forced prostitution and paedophilia can be controlled. Don't you think so?
have the same view point..
Also, as a selfish woman who wants a safe place to live where there are no hawkers making life miserable for me,bombay offers that.And somewhere I tend to believe that its because,those people who want sex, have their avenues available in mumbai and therefore, I have a better life... Like you, a lover of mumbai
Brillliant!
being a blog lover, i've never seen a more interesting one.
loved it.
=)
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