• 8 months ago
Explore the intimate and poignant love stories amidst the backdrop of Sonagachi, Kolkata's Red Light District. Join us as we delve into the lives of *Renuka and *Bijli Begum, two sex workers with contrasting perspectives on love. While Renuka embraces love daily, seeking solace and joy in her relationship, Bijli Begum grapples with years of conditioning that have shaped her beliefs. Witness the resilience, vulnerability, and humanity of these women as they navigate the complexities of love in their everyday lives.

Read the article: https://www.outlookindia.com/national/bargaining-for-love-in-kolkatas-red-light-area

*Names have been changed to protect identity.

#Sonagachi #SexWorkers #Kolkata

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Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 Hi, this is Agnidheb Bondobadde from Outlook India.
00:15 A couple of days before Valentine's Day,
00:16 we had actually decided to visit Sonagachi,
00:18 the red light district of Kolkata.
00:20 To talk to the sex workers there about something that they're usually not asked about.
00:24 Love.
00:25 A very human feeling.
00:26 The innocent feeling of falling in love.
00:27 The feeling of a first kiss.
00:29 The feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you see a person.
00:31 And there was no reason they could not feel that as well.
00:34 And when I went down there,
00:36 we talked to Renuka, a person in her mid-twenties,
00:39 and Bijli Begum, another person in her sixties.
00:43 So while we were talking to Renuka,
00:44 Renuka is somebody who wants to give love a chance every single day.
00:49 She wants to experience all the things that love can bring to a person.
00:53 While on the other hand, Bijli Begum,
00:55 a person who was just passing by and just heard us talk about love,
00:58 she's just barged in to offer her stance on love.
01:01 Which is men and love don't go on the same line.
01:03 She doesn't believe in the concept of love when it comes to sex workers.
01:07 Because according to her, they are considered a different species by everybody around.
01:10 But somewhere, both of them have given love a chance in their lives.
01:13 While Renuka continues to give that every day.
01:16 Bijli Begum had given up on that the day her husband passed away.
01:19 And the day her husband passed away, since that very day,
01:21 she has not taken a single client.
01:23 Because that is her way of claiming her love.
01:26 While for Renuka, things are very different because
01:28 she gives her lover the time, her heart.
01:32 And in spite of facing a lot of abuse in the hands of her previous husband,
01:36 she gives her lover the trust, her heart,
01:39 and whatever she can as a person to accommodate his feelings as well.
01:44 And they get together every night,
01:46 they record each other, they laugh, they smile, they cry together,
01:48 and they even have their dinner together.
01:50 So for Renuka, it's a different feeling altogether.
01:52 The feeling of a different universe at night when her lover comes over.
01:56 While for Bijli Begum, it's been years of conditioning.
01:59 It's been years of harsh conditioning that has made her believe that they don't deserve love.
02:03 Negotiation with their bodies is different.
02:05 So these are the two different perspectives that we got from Sonakashi
02:09 on the very, very human feeling of love.

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