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Durga Puja in West Bengal.

How Sex Workers Of Shonagachi Are Reclaiming Public Space With Their All-Woman Durga Puja

In West Bengal, no idol of Durga can be made without soil from a brothel. It is a key component of the Earthly form of the Devi Shakti.

05 October 2022

Kamatipura

Kamatipura: Namdeo Dhasal’s Ode To Mumbai’s Dark Underbelly

This poem appeared in Namdeo Dhasal’s 1981 Marathi collection, 'Tuhi Iyatta Kanchi' (What Grade Are You In), later translated to English by Dilip Chitre, and published by Navayana in 2007.

22 July 2022

Nowhere to Go, Nowhere to Live

Sex Workers Of Kamathipura: Nowhere To Go, Nowhere To Live

Multiple factors including the law have made it impossible to collectivise the women in the locality

22 July 2022

We The People: A Samaritan On Delhi's Red-light Area GB Road

Kunal Maan, who grew up in a red-light district, started Maan Foundation to provide 'love and respect' to the women who earn a living out of the 98 brothels in Delhi’s Garstin Bastion or GB Road, home to the city’s...

15 August 2022

Courte-Sans Creativity

Bollywood’s Sex Workers: Courte-sans Creativity

Never known for originality or verisimilitude, Bollywood scriptwriters trawl the absolute depths when creating on-screen prostitutes, in search of lucre

22 July 2022

Life Measured in Square Feet

Developing Kamathipura: Life Measured in Square Feet

Plans to revive Mumbai’s infamous locality of Kamathipura have remained, at best, a dream for its residents

22 July 2022

Love Loss and Longing

Love, Loss And Longing Among Kamathipura’s Sex Workers

The parallel world of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, with its aesthetically-lit windows and luxurious sentimentality that glows in the yellow fairy lights, doesn’t tell the story of the countless other Gangubais.

22 July 2022

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Sex And The City: Down Jasmine-scented Alleys Of Memory

A short film that chronicles Calcutta’s rapid transformation into a megalopolis after colonisation, through the unique lens of sex work

24 June 2022

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08 June 2022
The Sonshine Years: Bitter-sweet Memories Of Growing Up In Kamathipura

The Sonshine Years: Bitter-sweet Memories Of Growing Up In Kamathipura

'There’s more hardship in sex work. The tawaif wants just a little bit of izzat, which the sex worker is denied to even dream about.'


27 May 2022
Of Whoring And Waiting: The Sages And Cages Of Kamathipura

Of Whoring And Waiting: The Sages And Cages Of Kamathipura

A 2019 raid rescuing 141 girls held behind trap doors and steel cages raised a poignant question—how long will art continue imitating life?


27 May 2022
Kamathipura Redevelopment But For Whom?

Kamathipura Redevelopment But For Whom?

An ambitious redevelopment plan is being readied for Kamathipura, whose lanes had seen a thriving sex trade. Forced out of the area, the sex workers will lose...


27 May 2022
From Shabana Azmi To Alia Bhatt: A Walk On The Wild Side

From Shabana Azmi To Alia Bhatt: A Walk On The Wild Side

Very few Indian directors have handled the subject of sex workers sensitively. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai is an exception.


27 May 2022
Gangubai Kathiawadi: Why Kamathipura's Matriarch Is In The News Again

Gangubai Kathiawadi: Why Kamathipura's Matriarch Is In The News Again

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' is in the eye of a storm, as the real-life daughter and grandson of the brothel owner are fighting to...


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09 March 2022
Gangubai's Kamathipura

Gangubai's Kamathipura

Residents in Kamathipura feel stigmatised with sex workers standing on the road and soliciting clients.


09 March 2022
Mary Ellen Mark And The ‘Cage-Girls’ of Kamathipura’s Falkland Road

Mary Ellen Mark And The ‘Cage-Girls’ of Kamathipura’s Falkland Road

The American photojournalist’s iconic shots of sex workers in Kamathipura are testimony not just to her photographic prowess but also to her humanity and...


08 March 2022
Sex work is like any other work

Sex work is like any other work

Sex work is like any other work


06 March 2022
When the towers come, remember us - Zeenath, eunuch sex worker, Gully No. 1, Kamathipura

When the towers come, remember us - Zeenath, eunuch sex worker, Gully No. 1, Kamathipura

I met Zeenath in 2012 for a story on adoptions by eunuch sex workers. For years, I have seen Kamathipura’s red light area fade away as builders move into...


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