Sex, no bar
Sunday, April 23, 2006 Sunday Read
Many men are celebrating the lifting of the ban on dance bars. Especially the ones who work as bar dancers, says Bhushan Korgaonkar
Once the dance bars are back in business, Deepak Saravde (24) will resume his old routine. At 9.35 pm he will wait for his regular cab pick up outside his house in Bhandup. En route, Rashid Sheikh (27) will join him. Both will arrive at a Thane dance bar after a 50-minute drive, and emerge from the taxi, not as Deepak and Rashid, but as Deepika and Rashida. Inside the cab, on the busy streets of the eastern suburbs, they will transform into bar dancers.Welcome to the world of bar girls who are actually boys. There are more than 50 of them in Mumbai. Saravde, who used to perform at a bar 20 days a month, says, “I am relieved that justice was delayed but not denied. The ban was detrimental for genuine dancer girls and guys. I can’t sing in an orchestra and I don’t feel comfortable about prostitution.”Most of these special bar girls have families entirely dependent on their source of income. Their earnings, like those of others employed in the industry, have been erratic for the last few months. Sheikh says, “My family is starving. I had to sell off jewellery to feed everyone. I even performed for some film group dances. But income from such sources is irregular.” When the work is regular, many of these dancers get anything between Rs 500 to Rs 2,500 a night, about 40 per cent of which goes to the bar owners. They earn more on Fridays and Saturdays.But livelihood is not the only reason that spurs them to spin. Many of the bar dancers are cross-dressers looking to express their feminine side. Simran, a bar dancer who currently dances at private parties, says, “I realised long ago that I should give a chance to the woman hidden inside me. I did not know how to go about it. I got the answer when I heard about a man dancing in a bar as a girl.” Many of them are also in the profession simply for love of the art form. Nineteen year old Lenin says, “I won’t classify myself as a cross-dresser though I am open about my sexuality. Dancing is my profession.” Some of these bar dancers also function as commercial sex workers. They may charge anything between Rs 500 and Rs 7,000 for sex. “Although my family knows I work as a bar girl, they don't know that I am gay,” says Sheikh. Mehek, an 18-year-old who works in a bar in South Mumbai, says, “Newcomers often mistake me for a woman and approach me for sex. I usually tell them I am a man. But sometimes I take a chance. Sometimes, even after having sex with me, some men don't realise that I am not a woman... thanks to my acting skills and their alcohol intake!”Even though male bar dancers are often perceived to be eunuchs by customers, it is not at all rare for them to pass off as women. Says a regular customer at a Thane bar, “I was shocked when I realised that this sexy dancer was actually a guy. She is the best dancer on the floor. I wish she was a girl.” Says Monica, a female bar girl who works with Deepak, “I am very fond of Deepika, which is what he loves to be called. He shares his make-up secrets with me. He knows more about physical beauty than many of us. Our relationship is beautiful.” Many bars usually employ one or two drag dancers along with female bar dancers. “This is because these guys have a tremendous amount of stamina. They can dance without stopping for hours. Also, their dressing sense and adas are better than that of the other girls,” says a bar-owner. The owner of the bar where Saravde works says, “Most of the customers don’t realise he is not female. Deepika is the main attraction of our bar.” There is also a superstitious belief among bar owners that having cross dressers or eunuchs at their establishments brings them good luck. There is also a belief that having sex with cross dressers or transgender men cures people of certain ailments and having them for ‘mistresses’ brings good luck and prosperity. “Because of this, I get many marriage proposals. Some men want me to leave my parents and stay in their house. But I am in search of a man who will respect me my parents and my dance,” says Sumit Athavle (21).But are the families of these men, some of whom are married and have children, comfortable with their chosen profession? “Initially, there was a big hungama in the house. But now they are comfortable with it,” says Saravde. His mother says, “I am proud of my son. He earns good money and doesn't have bad habits such as smoking and drinking.” Some of these men even get marriage proposals because they earn well. Sheikh, who is married and has two children, says, “When my parents suggested I marry this particular girl they had chosen, I sent a drag photograph of mine. She accepted me as I am and then we got married.”Despite all of this, not all drag bar dancers are geared for too many years in the profession. Some of them, like their female counterparts, hope to ‘settle’ down after they reach a certain age. “I am young now, but later I want to switch to something else. I may start a dance academy or become a choreographer,” says Saravde. Mahesh Gupta (25), after two years of being a bar dancer, is now a social worker. “ earn a fourth of what I used to in the dance bars, but I have no regrets.” (All names have been changed to protect identities)• I realised that I should give a chance to the woman inside — Deepak Saravde, Male bar dancer
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