Hindustan Times, Lucknow, July 3, 2002

For this village, 'flesh' fetches bread and butter

By Tarannum Manjul

(names have been changed)

Natpurwa (Sandila): IT'S THE flesh that matters here. It's the 

flesh trade, which fills tummies here. Everyday.

Nobody has objected to it for the past 300 years. This is 

Natpurwa - about 60-odd km away from Lucknow. The village, 

with a population of 1200, does not know what development 

is all about. From a 13-year-old Rukma to a 65-year-old Rajjo, 

they all form part of the accepted vicious circle.

"I don't know since when I started it. This was always there 

in my family, " says Aajji, a 55-year-old woman, who, due to 

ill health, is no longer a 'hot bargain' Anita, a fresh entrant 

adds: "My mother did this, and so did my bua (aunt). So why 

can't I?" But, Radhia bluntly refuses to answer any query. 

Reason - she has a customer waiting inside. And she doesn't 

want to be "disturbed".

While women are always dressed up gaudily ("Saaman ahchcha 

rakhna padta hai, we must look customer-friendly"), men are 

seen playing cards or drinking liquor. Children, including 

young girls, are barely clad. They play around unaware of the 

entire scenario.

Men work as pimps for the women in their families. And those 

who don't accept this, have to do farming on the little 

pieces of land and suffer silently. "When my daughters grew 

up, people told me to send them off for business. When I refused,

they threatened me with dire consequences. I finally got both 

my daughter married off to far-off villages and haven't met them 

since," says Lalaram.

Customers do not belong to Lucknow alone. "The best girls go to 

Mumbai, while others have to be contended with nearby townships 

like Hardoi," says Razia, who, along with her mother and two 

sisters, is a regular one to Lucknow. Ask them about the role 

of the police, and a sly smile lights their faces. "Main toh 

ek policewale ki hi hoon," (I have a policeman for a regular 

customer)" says Ramdulari. But, others complain of cops barging 

into their houses and getting off without paying for the 'services' 

Some have refused to be sucked into the system forever. "When 

my son grew up, he felt ashamed of my profession and asked me 

to stop all this. He works as a mechanic and we live on his 

earnings," says Nira, adding, I wish that someone could bring 

hope in our lives."

A separate blurb next to the story:

DM, SP unaware

DISTRICT MAGISTRATE (Hardoi) Dr. MAA Khan is unaware of what all 

is going on Natpurwa. "In fact, I do not know about any such place. 

But now that you have informed me, I will enquire about it," he 

said, talking to Hindustan Times.

Similarly, Superintendent of Police, Hardoi, RV Singh said, "I have 

not been informed about any such village" But he added he would 

now "initiate action".