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Born into Brothels - By Maya Ganesh

By - 12:41 PM Wednesday 11 January 2006

Last night I saw Born into Brothels, last year’s Oscar winning documentary film about how the lives of nine children of sex workers in Calcutta were changed through film and photography.

It’s a familiar story. An American photographer comes to India ten years ago to do a story on female infanticide. Instead she finds herself in Calcutta’s red light district Sonagachi. She moves in with the women there, but befriends their children instead. Slowly a photography class begins, and then everything changes.

Weaving the stories of these children with incredible footage of their lives shot over three years in Sonagachi, with the children’s photographs, the film tracks the lives of Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman (the directors/cinematographers). They become involved, they want these kids to go to school, they want to change their lives, they see their talent and unique perspective on life.

So there is the plotline of their lives – Zana traipsing all across Calcutta to get these children into boarding schools and facing red-tape and stigma. No one wants these children because of where they come from. Because no one can admit them into any institution as their parents are ‘criminals’ – sex workers, drug dealers, liquor vendors. There is not a single legal document they can be issued. Or they have to be tested for HIV first before they can even be considered. The directors’ own fears and helplessness at not being able to do more than merely teach photography. That the girls will slowly be inducted into ‘the line’ before their own eyes. It is the story of unlikely friends and amazing destiny meeting across cultures and continents.

And there is the apathy born out of generations of poverty and stigmatization. At some stage the children just don’t have the will to push through to the other side. “I don’t think about being rich or about life changing into anything better…I have come to accept that life is about sadness and pain…but its my life and I have to come to terms with it” says shy little Kochi at the age of ten years. Others, when given opportunities for something different, begin to resist. On a visit to the zoo the children fall silent seeing the similarities between themselves and caged animals. At some point you learn helplessness and lose the will to strive. Everything is just about survival.

They finally manage to get some of the children into good schools but two leave. Some don’t even take up the offer because they just don’t think they will make it. The greatest success story (according to the film) is of Avijit, clearly one of the most talented in the group, who travels to Amsterdam to showcase his work at an international photography exhibition, and as of last year has been accepted into a high school in America. Moreover, all the children receive the proceeds of the sale of their photographs exhibited across the US.

But their lives have changed. There is a notion of self worth that they have been shown. Any act of creation brings a sense of confidence, an awareness of an individual perspective, of voice. To children who have been born from and of pain, shame, and disadvantage this sense of self is a quantum leap.

The girl who was sure to become a sex worker by her sixteenth birthday has resisted and joined a vocational training course. The boys are all learning trades. The girls who joined the boarding school are still there. It is when Zana and Ross travel back to Calcutta after three years to reconnect with the kids that you see the love and warmth they share. Tears flowing, the children grown up and talking in fluent English and exchanging email IDs….

There was some controversy about the film in Calcutta. I don’t remember the details, but something about the proceeds of the money not reaching the children. I actually find it hard to believe that two people so personally invested in these children would want to cut them out. Unsurprisingly the allegations were made by some NGOs. But clearly the film itself is a sweet little story, humbling and touching, raw and moving, despite some technical/representation/cultural issues I might have with it. Get it if you can, its available in good DVD libraries in metros. Or visit www.bornintobrothels.com OR www.kids-with-cameras.org

It reminded me of some lovely times I have shared (and continue to share) with another little organization of the children of sex workers in Calcutta called DIKSHA, based in the red light district of Kalighat. I first met them through my work at IFSHA some years ago. We visited, did workshops, helped out. I remember workshops with the kids, heated arguments and discussions in broken mix of English, Hindi and Bengali. Their intelligence and dedication would make me forget where they came from, where I came from, that they had worked so hard despite all their disadvantages. It was humbling. Though at some stage I was pretty sure they would shut down. Money was limited, and the tiny DIKSHA room was ‘borrowed’ from the women.

Last year when I visited I was amazed to see what it has become. There was a very well put together exhibition of their poetry and writing, the result of one year of writing workshops by some of Bengal’s most literate people. I was really touched (and a little insecure!) at their poetic sensibilities.

The kids have grown up, they are poets, writers, theatre artists, going to school, working at computers, falling in love with each other. The workshops with younger children continue – on body, sexuality, growing up, love, sex work, meditation, stigma, self awareness. The older youth teach the younger ones. Singers, accountants, web designers, writers, actors all visit and spend their time teaching the kids. Why has it succeeded, why does it continue to run in the absence of any notable funding or resources? I think because a very real spark was lit in the lives of the first group of DIKSHA children, and in the woman who started it. They saw the possibility of a different life, they did not reject their mothers or their backgrounds, but instead pushed hard for something better. And they have made it through to the other side.

In honour of the women and children of Kalighat who have given me so much. Thank you.

Posted By - 12:41 PM Wednesday 11 January 2006

Comments

loved that last line, maya...can empathize with those words...as someone who has had the privilege of some amazing experiences with under-privileged cross-sections,i have always felt personally enriched by the process...a few months back , i was at a press conference with a leading musician...someone came and tugged at me...i could not readily recognise the person...soon he introduced himself as a press photographer who was part of a workshop i had helped organize some years ago for the street children in mumbai...a follow up programme was also part of the exercise and so many have emerged professionals from their..one girl has actually landed in germany, getting married to a german who admired her photographs at an exhibition...she was also training to be a dancer..
another event which brings tears to my eyes was about a street kid murugesh from kalaghoda who came back to marry his childhood sweetheart from the streets after finding himself a home in the usa...the event was attended by apache indian amongst others and was shot by Channel 4 as a fairy tale romance...
david, who killed a potential child sex abuser who had already abused this boy's mom came to a friend's home one night after this killing...thankfully we could network before he was send to a delinquency centre and had him placed at a sos facility...
each story , a saga of struggle...of self actualization across phenomenal odds....movements in consciousness at a different platform...
sure ifsha would have a bhandar of such inspirations to share...
thank you for this share...

Posted by

sundar

on January 11, 2006 01:11 PM

Maya thank you for givng us such a wonderful inspirational story. It brought tears of joy into my eyes. It tells us that with a little bit of extra effort on our part we can change the lives of these special and talented children.

Posted by

Annie

on January 11, 2006 04:25 PM

Maya,

what a lovely piece you have written.

There was a kamal hassan movie a long time back on the red light area of kolkata.

it showed how a village girl about 12 years old ( hassan's daughter in the film ) is taken into the red light area by an act of cheating by kamal's close friend.

Kamal hassan finds the daughter...but by that time she is scarred both in body and mind by the pressures of prostituition.

It was a very sad movie showing the changing of an innncoent life into that of an abused one.

atleast now, these children are being guided to do something quite opposite. to change from an environ which might abuse them in the future to someone better off.

Posted by

Aachi

on January 11, 2006 04:25 PM

Great piece Maya. It brings back memories of IFSHA workshops and how they were instrumental in creating little groups like Diksha. Remember all those workshops on masculinity and sexuality etc. All just flashed before my eyes and I guess its the training we have all received here which has made us appreciate the subtler levels at which change, growth, human suffering and strength really lie.

Couldnt agree with you more when you say "...I think because a very real spark was lit in the lives of the first group of DIKSHA children, and in the woman who started it. They saw the possibility of a different life, they did not reject their mothers or their backgrounds, but instead pushed hard for something better. And they have made it through to the other side."

Projects like these sustain themselves because their clients become committed to change.

love
anusheh

Posted by

Anusheh

on January 11, 2006 05:30 PM

Thank you Maya for bringing in such positivity through the story. Feeling quite overwhelmed with emotions right now. Just feels so good to see children being treated as children!

Thanks again.

Posted by

Shubhosree

on January 11, 2006 07:54 PM

Truly an inspiring piece of the triumphant spirit!

I resonated both with the children jumping for the change and those whom resisted. Such a fine line of self-worth once broken, can irrivocably be healed to some.

I often wonder why some children can overcome barriers and the past-experiences of life, and why some cannot?

I see the virtues of both worlds, when the acceptance of them, are prominent. One, blissful hope for change, the other, blissful ignorance, to remain the same.

So, is "hope" a key?

North

Posted by

North

on January 11, 2006 09:38 PM

Good Morning everyone!

Came across this piece of news in the paper a couple of days back and thought I would share it with all of you ....

Navin, 24, a sales executive in Indore, while on an official tour to Nagpur, met Neha at a red light area. Navin enamoured by her charm, kept visiting the place. They fell in love, one thing led to another and Neha ended up proposing to Navin. She said she wanted him to get her out of that hell. Told him how her mother and sisters had forced her into prostitution, beating and torturing her everyday. Navin accepted the proposal and was determined to take her away. And so he did. He married the 20 year old sex worker out of her misery.

Well at least I hope so! :)

Posted by

Shubhosree

on January 12, 2006 10:22 AM

hey shubhoshree,i guess marrying for whatever reason is a regular happening...when i read thae article, the mom's attitude was noteworthy...

Posted by

sundar

on January 12, 2006 10:32 AM

Maya, Shubhosree, Sundar

Thanks for letting people know that these incidents don't just happen in the movies.

Good Morning Bloggers!

Posted by

Chaitali

on January 12, 2006 10:39 AM

Hello Sundar,

Could you explain what you mean when you say - "marrying for whatever reason is a regular happening"

Didnt quite get that.

Posted by

Shubhosree

on January 12, 2006 10:44 AM

sure shubhoshree...i have come across people marrying girls from the redlight districts as well as the dance bar circuit for various reasons of abuse...marrying a commercial sex worker, in my opinion is not a very rare happening...if the person in q has got married with the best of intent, which has also happened before, society has been quite severe on him, especially his immediate relatives.. i thought it stood out that the mom who happens to be a school teacher, supported him entirely on this decision and even felt proud of him for following the dictates of his heart.

Posted by

sundar

on January 12, 2006 10:49 AM

Thanks Sundar for the lucid explanation. Yes, the mother's attitude was commendable indeed. A rarity!

Posted by

Shubhosree

on January 12, 2006 10:55 AM

It is indeed a moving story. The children of the Brothels. The children had lost all hope. But they despair not in the last, for despair are for those who see the end beyond all doubt.

We only know about the misery of the human lives through make believe fiction stories, but to experience it fully as it is an entirely different thing.

Posted by

Johney

on January 12, 2006 12:21 PM

This story about the guy marrying a prostitute remind me of the movie CHAMELI. good movie. same story. but when i saw, i thought this can never happen in real life. but i see i was wrong.

but will they be able to live normal? i mean, will society not bother them? i dont know. i feel scared for them. good luck to them.

Posted by

Ikp

on January 13, 2006 12:07 PM

First Maya let me thank you for giving us this story and thanks to others for telling us about similar real life stories.

Dear ikp,

Your last lines brought the words of this particular song from a movie featuring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore to my mind. Can't remember the name of the movie but the lines go like this:

Kuch toh loge kahengey.
Logo ka kaam hai kehna.
Choro in bekaar ki baton mein, kahi beet na jaye raina.
Kuch toh loge Kahengey...

I think the film was also on the topic of the hero falling in love with a prostitute.

Anybody out there who can translate the words into English for the convenience of those who do not understand Hindi?

Posted by

Sohini

on January 14, 2006 03:22 PM

I would like to have some address of such areas.

Posted by

Goutam Chatterjee

on August 23, 2006 01:51 PM

Born into Brothels - By Maya Ganesh

By - 12:41 PM Wednesday 11 January 2006

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