Flesh trade hit by hard times
Business is bad for 27-year-old Rehana, a housewife in Andheri, who services clients at a local madam's apartment in her spare time. "Till six months ago, I used to get at least 20 customers every month and now I barely get five customers in a month," says Rehana, who makes Rs4,000 for three hours of work in the afternoon. "The parties from Gujarat have dried up and now it is the odd local customer who comes over," says Rehana, adding that the sharp drop in income has forced a drastic change in her lifestyle. "No more gold-buying sprees and no more trips in hired cars," she says.
Her madam, Jinal, gives a better perspective to the bad times. "Market mein mandi hain (the economy is down). First the customer takes care of all his expenses at home, and then splurges the excess with us. As expenses are going up, our business is going down," says Jinal, adding that she as well as a handful of her counterparts operating in the Andheri-Borivali belt of the western suburbs are all facing a crunch in business. "I have already given up a 2BHK apartment that I had rented in Malad for clients," says Jinal, who now operates from the sole apartment in Andheri.
While the likes of Rehana and Jinal operating at the lower end of the flesh trade are facing underemployment, things are worse for high class call girls, who come with a price to match. Says Bobby, who runs an escort service and supplies girls to clients who check-in at suburban five-stars, "From Bollywood-types to businessmen, everybody is tightening the belt. Business has dropped by 50% and the other half is negotiating hard for a better deal," says Bobby, adding that girls who quoted Rs50,000 a night till last year are willing to service clients at half the price. "Some girls go without a client for one full month and when it becomes difficult for them to meet even their daily expenses, they drop the price — and get stuck with the lower price," says Bobby, adding that while every year all his girls were part of wild parties during Diwali season, this year they were all celebrating Diwali at home.
Things are bad even for hotels, who are registering lower occupancies from walk-in customers. "These customers account for 40% of our business, and there has been a sharp drop in the past three months. We are now focussing more on business travellers," said the manager of a 3-star hotel in Khar.
Meanwhile, the regulars have their own take on the situation. "Besides the economic conditions, there is also the demand-supply factor at play. The number of girls out to make a quick buck has increased much more than the number of takers for their services," says a film production professional, adding that a lot of girls — from models and air-hostesses to bit-role actors and housewives — are adding to the numbers and increasing competition among them.
 | |
Her madam, Jinal, gives a better perspective to the bad times. "Market mein mandi hain (the economy is down). First the customer takes care of all his expenses at home, and then splurges the excess with us. As expenses are going up, our business is going down," says Jinal, adding that she as well as a handful of her counterparts operating in the Andheri-Borivali belt of the western suburbs are all facing a crunch in business. "I have already given up a 2BHK apartment that I had rented in Malad for clients," says Jinal, who now operates from the sole apartment in Andheri.
While the likes of Rehana and Jinal operating at the lower end of the flesh trade are facing underemployment, things are worse for high class call girls, who come with a price to match. Says Bobby, who runs an escort service and supplies girls to clients who check-in at suburban five-stars, "From Bollywood-types to businessmen, everybody is tightening the belt. Business has dropped by 50% and the other half is negotiating hard for a better deal," says Bobby, adding that girls who quoted Rs50,000 a night till last year are willing to service clients at half the price. "Some girls go without a client for one full month and when it becomes difficult for them to meet even their daily expenses, they drop the price — and get stuck with the lower price," says Bobby, adding that while every year all his girls were part of wild parties during Diwali season, this year they were all celebrating Diwali at home.
Things are bad even for hotels, who are registering lower occupancies from walk-in customers. "These customers account for 40% of our business, and there has been a sharp drop in the past three months. We are now focussing more on business travellers," said the manager of a 3-star hotel in Khar.
Meanwhile, the regulars have their own take on the situation. "Besides the economic conditions, there is also the demand-supply factor at play. The number of girls out to make a quick buck has increased much more than the number of takers for their services," says a film production professional, adding that a lot of girls — from models and air-hostesses to bit-role actors and housewives — are adding to the numbers and increasing competition among them.
No comments:
Post a Comment