Prapti Kakati

SUNSHINE                                                         Rodali. One of the hundreds of kids in G.B Road, the daughter of a sex worker. A cute, little creature, she has a loud, commanding voice. “Ma’amji”, she says, “yaha hum khel rahe hain, darwaza band kar denge, aap nahin kholna”. My weak-willed, non-assertive self agrees reluctantly, even though I have work in that very room. She takes confident strides to the other room, ordering the other 4-5-year-olds, sometimes even pushing them forward. They take out some mats from a drawer and go into the other room to play “ghar, ghar’. Rodali, everyone’s darling at school. She used to hop from lap to lap, stealing kisses, until another cute kid from the same ‘kotha’(room) got enrolled, and her ‘popularity’ somewhat decreased. But she isn’t jealous, no she isn’t. Instead, s...

                           THE VERY FIRST So, this is the first time I am putting my words up in the public eye (My professor forbids starting a sentence with ‘so’, and here I am, her diligent student). I hope you are not too harsh with your judgement, although it is inevitable. I always wanted to write, but never knew what to. Plus, the prospect of being categorized with Ravinder Ss and Sudeep Ns terrified me (I beg of you, don’t). So here it is, whatever this is or will become. I work with an NGO which works for the women and the children in the red-light area of Delhi, G.B Road. This blog was an impulsive decision after I suddenly thought of writing down my experiences in the street. I am not very confident though; I doubt I have enough words in stock to convey them with the same depth. My first time in a brothel - I had gone there to get the kids to school. Extremely nervous, I climb up...