Whose life is it anyway?
“I am a prostitute by birth, by vocation, by religion. No
man has tricked me into this calling. No bastard has
deceived me. No pimp has forced me into a 'cage.' Unlike
other innocent girls who have been unwittingly trapped
into the flesh trade, I have never shed tears. In fact, I have
chosen this ancient profession because it gives me total
satisfaction.”
These are the views of Kumud, the protagonist of this
classic, written in the seventies, with her permission. She
proclaims: “Whose life is it anyway? Whether I sell my
body or destroy it – it is none of your fucking business.”
Shocked?
This is not a novel; it is a biography of Kumud (name
changed), a sex worker in Kamathipura, Mumbai, who
rose to become a film star and played the lead role in a
Hindi movie.
Originally written in Gujarati (Vasaksajja),
soon to be released in English The Cages