Walking on the pavement, I was going back home. It was all normal until I saw a prostitute near Gadkari Rangayatan. It was not
a new thing for me, though it struck me somewhere in my mind. She seemed to be 18/19
years old, wearing a dark red lipstick,
kajal in her eyes and a pink bindi
on her forehead, even when she was in her teenage. I tried to avoid eye contact
with her, but; I couldn’t. She was looking at me with those lusty eyes, all the time. I was so scared. I wanted to talk to her at the same time.
It is said that a girl opts to be a prostitute only because
two reasons, 1) She likes being a slut (Bhai,
use maja ata hai esiliye wo randi hai.) 2) It’s a quick mode to earn money.
(Bhai, duniya mai do aise businesses hai
jo kabhibhi band nhi ho sakte hai ek daru ka dhanda aur ek prostitution ka.)
So, I wanted to know her story. It was my first encounter with a prostitute. I was a bit scared (more than a bit.) But; out of curiosity I made an attempt and went ahead to ask her.
It was her first day but she seemed confident (wish I had
such confidence in me.) Such a co-incidence it was. She was the first
prostitute whom I asked and I was her first customer. With trembling
legs, I moved forward and asked her, rate
kya hai? (How much do you charge?) It was so sudden for her that she got stunned for a moment but; she replied in a bleak tone, “500 rupaiya ghanta. Hotel mera par hotel ka kharcha tumhara” (Rs.500
per hour, I will tell you the hotel but, you will have to pay the bill.) For
me, it was like a bullshit. I thought she was charging me more and was unfair.
I asked her to reduce the rate. “Dekh,
yahi rate sabko lagta hai, agar tuze parvadta hai to le nhi to side hatt,
dhande ke time khoti mat kar” (See, If you can’t afford this, you can fuck
off. Don’t cause troubles for other customers. Rate is same for
everybody.) I agreed with her and gave her hundred to come with me. I walked ahead and she followed me. We both went to motel Amrapali. It was a cheap motel, I could only see prostitutes over there. It seemed there was a tie-up between the motel manager and prostitutes.
She asked me to collect the keys from the reception area and
she went upstairs. I followed her and went to our allotted room. My hands were
shivering, my soul was shivering. all this while, She kept looking at me as if
I was her boyfriend. Since my hands were shivering she mischievously laughed at me. It made me upset.
.
We went inside and she made me comfortable as if she was a
pro in this. It has been 15mins, we both were sitting on a corner of the bed. I didn’t do anything. She asked me, “Kya hua? Aisehi baitha rahega kya? Agr kuch
nahi karna tha to kyu laya muze?” (Hey!
What happened? Why ain’t you doing nothing? What did you bring in me here for if
you did’t want to do anything?) “Achha
suno, muze kuch karna tha esliye main nhi aaya yaha pe, muze toh aapse
batchit karni thi.” (Listen, I have
not paid you cause I wanted to have fun. I just wanted to have a conversation
with you) I uttered. “Oye, yaha log batchit karne nhi aate, aur
muze batchit karne mai interest nhi hai”, (People don’t come here to have a
conversation with me and I also am not interested in having a conversation with
you) she replied in a harsh tone.
I kept on persuading her until she said yes to have a
conversation with me. I made her sit beside me. I started with her name.
Surprisingly she had two names, her real name was Rekha and as a prostitute her name was Chameli. Both the names reminded me of typical old Bollywood movies
in e which they had showed those “RED LIGHT AREAS.” She was from Bengal. She
used to live with her parents there. In 2013, she had watched the news of
“Shweta”, a prostitute from Kamathipura who has gone to the USA for her
education. I as a little stunned after listening to all these from her. “HOW
THE HELL SHE COULD KNOW THESE THINGS.” I thought she was uneducated and
illiterate, but she had studied till 12th standard and because of
financial issues she happened to leave her studies behind. Later I asked her
how she came to Thane but; she didn’t tell me anything about that. She told me
not to ask this question again and I obeyed her.
She had come to Thane to be a prostitute. She wants to be a new
Shweta. She wants to become an inspiration for many other “Rekhas” and “Chamelis.”
The final question I asked was, “Do you think someone shall come and change
your life?” She simply said, “Dekhte hai.
Agar nhi aaya to bhi kuch tension nhi hai merko. Mai yaha paisa kamake apni
padhai chalu karne wali hu.” (Let’s
see, even if no one comes, it won’t bother me. I will earn my own money and use
for my further studies.) I had never thought that an encounter with a
prostitute would be so interesting. I had thought she would kick my ass off
but; she turned to be a nice girl.
I hope this write up shall change your mind-sets. Every
woman deserves a respect even a prostitute. Don’t forget, every prostitute is a
woman first.
R E S P E C T
