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Pune: Budhwar Peth residents shun discrimination and banish the feeling of "us and them" as they include commercial sex workers and their families for Ganeshotsav festivities Ravindra Kamble is a social worker and runs Dalit Devdasi Mahila Manavta Sanstha . He is part of Bal Ganesh Mitra Mandal in the area, which carries the tag of India's third largest red-light district. He said, "Commercial sex workers (CSW) of Budhwar Peth are like our mothers and sisters.
We would not even think of excluding them from Ganeshotsav or any festival, for that matter." Tejaswi Savekari, director of Saheli Sangh, a sex workers' collective in Budhwar Peth, told TOI, "Around 15 years ago, Vaibhav Mitra Mandal started to fully include CSWs in the celebrations. The women not only donated money, but were part of daily puja and aarti.
" The area has four mandals — Jai Maharashtra Yuvak Mandal founded in 1956, Veer Hanumaan Mitra Mandal founded in 1959, Vaibhav Mitra Mandal founded in 1968 and Bal Ganesh Mitra Mandal founded in 2000. Today, all the four mandals see active participation by children of CSWs and together celebrate Ganeshotsav with grandeur and inclusivity. Kamble said he was the third generation in his family to be born in Budhwar Peth.
"My grandmother used to be a devadasi and owned a brothel here. The mandal was founded when I was eight years old. Our mandal celebrates festivals like Ganeshotsav and Dahi Handi for the last 10-12 years.
The budget for this year's Ganeshotsav is nearly Rs80,000, which has been donated by the women here. They also offer prasad to Ganapati." A woman from West Bengal works as a CSW in Budhwar Peth and supports her family.
She said, "Like Durga Puja clubs in Kolkata, money is collected from everyone living in the neighbourhood to celebrate Ganeshotsav." Another woman from Budhwar Peth said, "I am a ghar malkin (brothel owner). Eight to 10 girls live together in each building.
During the festival, we all perform the aarti together at the pandal." Many brothels bring small Ganapati idols for puja over the days of the festival. Meanwhile, most CSWs said their participation in festivals "comes with its own set of traditions and boundaries.
" "Even though we may not be specially invited to mandals outside Budhwar Peth for aarti, we are not denied entry anywhere we seek darshan. ‘Naku nahi karta koi' (no one says no)," another CSW told TOI. Savekari said, "It is unfortunate that the inclusion is not complete outside the red-light area.
The primary aim of a saarvajanik (community) Ganapati festival is to involve all. Sex workers often remain isolated and are seldom invited for aarti or puja." A CSW said, "We may not be involved in community pandals outside our locality, but we observe all rituals — like the ‘hartaali' fast on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi.
" Savekari said that traditionally, while women handle most preparations, the aarti was always led by men. "In the red-light area, we have been working to change this and encourage women to perform the aarti— a practice that has gradually become common in the last 12 years." Uday Shyamrao Talekar, deputy president of Jai Maharashtra Yuvak Mandal, said, "Commercial sex workers come to perform aarti almost every day.
We extend all respect to them, just as we receive it in society." Nandakumar Honrao (71) said, "I have been running the Jai Maharashtra Yuvak Mandal for 60 years. Our budget and programmes have expanded.
We celebrate with a spirit of unity. For the last 10-15 years, the ‘ghar malkins' and other women have been actively involved in performing the puja. It wasn't like this before and mandal workers conducted the puja earlier.
Now, commercial sex workers bring their own offerings for puja and we invite a pandit to guide them for the rituals." Amid vibrant celebrations of Ganeshotsav, sex workers of Budhwar Peth find themselves not only as participants, but as contributors upholding the traditions of the festival with dignity..
