Book
Title: Up Against Darkness
Author: Medha Deshmukh
Bhaskaran
Publisher: Sakal Media, Pune,
2023
Pages: 295
According to an estimate by the National AIDS Control
Organisation (NACO), there are over eight lakh women sex workers in India. A
good many of them are treated as worse than animals. This book, Up Against
Darkness, is a detailed study on the red-light areas of Ahmednagar in
Maharashtra.
The book highlights the phenomenal
service rendered by Dr Girish Kulkarni and his wife Prajakta for the sex
workers of Ahmednagar. As a boy in school, Girish was restless and full of
energy. “He became unruly in class, troubling the teachers and other school
children.” The neighbours too had to bear the brunt of his mischiefs. When
Girish saw a sex worker smacking her little son in order to get him out of her
client’s way, his heart melted. He was a young college student then. He
volunteered to take care of the little boy and eventually he became an apostle
of the sex workers in Ahmednagar. All his infinite passion found a cause now.
He dedicated his entire life to the
service of these women and their children without discontinuing his studies. He
had the support of his entire family too, particularly his father and brother.
With the help of many magnanimous others, Girish set up an institution named
Snehalaya to take care of the children of sex workers as well as those workers
who could not continue their profession due to sexually transmitted diseases.
Soon the establishment grew and it had many wings like Snehankur and Snehadhar.
The system set in place by Girish is doing a heroic service up to this day in
Ahmednagar.
We meet many sex workers in the book.
Some of them were betrayed by their own friends or relatives. Poverty pushed
many of them into this profession. Domestic violence may be the cause in many
cases. The author brings a variety of examples to us many of which are
heart-rending.
What comes as a rude shock is the
collusion of people who apparently belong to the elite class. “A disturbing
discovery I made while researching for this book is that most of the dharamsthalas
(holy places) in India are surrounded by brothels,” the author says. “The bhaktas
or devotees come to these temples and then visit nearby red-light areas. The
hypocrisy is shocking: the devotee’s circle thinks of him as a spiritual
person, but they do not know what his real intention of visiting ‘God’ is.”
The book informs us of the “strong
nexus between brothel owners, criminals, politicians and police.” Towards the
end of the book we meet some sex workers telling us about certain respected
elite members of the society such as hotel owners, government officials,
engineers, doctors and politicians who are involved in the flesh trade.
People like Girish who try to help
the women in the trade and their children may come into conflict with some of
these powerful men or their agents occasionally. Light seems to win over
darkness in the end of each conflict. Girish is optimistic and relentless. Now
there are a lot more people who support him and work with him too. This book is
their story as well as the story of a Rekha and a Shobha and a Sangeeta, a few
of the 800,000 women who are forced to sell themselves in some filthy cubicle that
stinks of urine and semen.
This book leaves us with a longing
for a better India. It also fills our hearts with a sense of gratitude to
people like Girish. 
Medha Deshmukh Bhaskaran
Ah, power and sex. It all gets jumbled together. And then religion? I'm glad that this guy found a calling in helping those who find themselves in that profession.
ReplyDeleteIndeed he, his family and some of his friends together are doing a remarkable service.
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeletePraise be for those men who understand the plight of women... and thank you for this review. YAM xx
The heartlessness that is all too visible among certain men shocks me when I read a book like this. Girish and such men appear as saints then.
DeleteThe entire sector calls for a lot of attention. On one side, the crime part. On the other, the neglect of women. It's high time the government gave some sort of protection for these workers. Interestingly, prostitution is not a crime but exploitation is.
ReplyDeleteProstitution is allegedly the oldest profession and hence cannot be stopped. As you say, we can only try to secure the lives and rights of the concerned women.
DeleteProstitutes are at the receiving end of unsatiated lust and anger. It is tragic.
ReplyDeleteProstitution is an undying proof of Man's brutality.
Delete'"The lover of the night becomes the judge of the day." Ranajit Guha, " Chandra's Death, Subaltern Studies - VI
ReplyDeleteA terse and apt quote.
Delete