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Bar girls’ choice: dancer or prostitute
April 27, 2005
Mumbai - Flashy lights, colourful and skimpy outfits, loud, lewd and raucous
noise in the background, people moving in a sort of slow frenzy .... Before you
get used to the environment, a sultry voice croons mera naam hai Shabnam, pyar
se log mujhe Shabbo kehte hai, which is followed by shrill whistles and
clapping.
The highly titillating atmosphere is born every night and dies with the first
light of the day in the metropolis.
This is the daily routine for 26-year-old dancer Shabnam who makes a living
performing at a dance bar in western suburbs. But the story of pain remains
hidden behind the loud music and suggestive dances.
Shabnam, like several others had come to Mumbai with a dream of making the most
of her knack for dancing.
However, fate had different plans for her. Typical of Bollywood, she married a
young handsome man who deserted her and Shabnam found herself the sole
bread-earner for a family of eight including her old mother-in-law with her
four children, a 21-year-old sister, abandoned by her husband, and her two
kids.
To sustain herself and her family, Shabnam took up dancing at a bar. "My goal
was to earn enough to provide two meals a day to my family," Shabnam said.
Shabnam is not the only woman who dances to earn a living. Majority of the
dancers in bars have a family to support whose husbands have either deserted
them or have wasted their lives drinking.
Mona, who works at a bar in central Mumbai was born here. When her parents died
she was 18 years old. "No relative came forward to help us. What am I supposed
to do in such a situation?”
"Due to weak financial standing, I could not pursue my college education as I
have two younger siblings," says Mona. "But I am not going to let my
kid-sisters enter the profession. I will work hard so that they graduate and
make a decent living," says she.
The dancers still live hand-to-mouth as they do not make enough money. Part of
their earnings - money showered upon them by customers – is given to the dance
bar owner. Women like Shabnam and Mona work double shifts to make ends meet.
“The girls come from all parts of India and even a few from Bangladesh and
Nepal,” Pravin Agarwal, an owner of a dance bar, said adding 90 per cent of the
girls come from the traditional dancers' community or gharanas.
"We are into entertaining people and not into flesh trade," claims Agarwal
adding were it not for dance bars, these girls would be forced to sell their
bodies to survive.
After the declaration of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R.
R. Patil recently that the dance bars would be shut down on "moral" grounds, a
major question remains to be answered - what did the alternative profession for
these dancers?
Agarwal lashes out at the government saying "they have no stand in respect of
dance bars. There is no proper government guidelines on various aspects like
the definition of a minor, etc."
"If the government lays down well defined terms and conditions to be followed
by the bar owners, we will happily follow it as we are a part of this democracy
and have a right to earn a living," said a dance bar owner who did not wish to
be named.
The official timing of a dance bar is from 7.30 p.m. to 1.30 a.m.. However,
dance bars often flout this norm. The dance bars have to pay Rs 30,000 for
collectors fees and Rs 15,000 towards police license fees every month.
"This is just the official amount. We have to pay thousands of rupees in
addition to the police to ensure that licenses are renewed even though we have
not violated any laws," said a dance bar owner adding "we have to flout the
deadline as those six hours do not get us sufficient money."
Press Trust of India
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