The Evergreen Barter System

          Barter System came into picture way back towards the later part of Stone Age when the civilizations had just started to flourish. I have suffixed it with a word “evergreen” because it has only evolved with the passage of time & now with the arrival of “money”, it has been given a sophisticated name “business”.
     Over the years businesses grew in various fields like foods/real estate/jewelries/garments/vehicles/technologies, etc. Some resulted in profit, some in losses. Businessmen had to switch over from one business to another, at times even changing their profession too. Amidst all these businesses, there has been a particular form of barter system (now a business) which has always been criticized by the society but still continues to make huge profits. It’s Prostitution, evergreen in true sense.
      Prostitution has been prevalent in India and all over the world, since ages, in various forms. In India they started from Dancing girls to Mutta wives to Brothels to Bar girls & finally Call girls. All such forms have been taken to the gallows during daytime discussions but post sunset it’s the same form that provides the much required pleasure and satisfaction, thus flourishing magnificently. The same men who claim abolishing of such businesses are the ones who make their way to that arena when in hunt of mental/physical relief. So the business proves to be the perfect stress-buster.
       On paper, prostitution has always been discarded by the society and its people, but when it comes to getting pragmatic….people have always been equivocal in their deeds. Filmmakers have tried to depict the life & work-cultures of prostitutes via various movies. Right from Shyam Benegal’s Mandi to Muzzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan to Sudhir Mishra’s Chameli to Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate, prostitutes have been picturized performing different tasks. Earlier it was just about providing entertainment in form of gazals/dance. Slowly professionalism creeped in and it became sheer fun. Today it also plays the role of an agent to get work done by many people in corporate world.       As a matter of fact, no girl wants to be a prostitute by choice; it’s the need that forces them into this profession. But whether it is globalization or recession, it’s a business that has always made profit and will continue to make profit through black market. A prostitute may just be earning for 15-20 years of her life before her youth fades out, but they will keep serving the men in the society generations after generations as they have been doing despite being labeled as the dirtiest element of the society. Thus, bartered for time immemorial!!

….@ Debashish