Mumbai bar dancers hope to get back ‘lost livelihood’

MUMBAI: For Lakshmi Kalam (31) from Malvani, watching Hindi news channels telecast the Supreme Court’s verdict lifting the ban on dancing in bars was akin to having the past eight years of her life flash before her eyes. A mother of three and former bar dancer, Kalam lost her livelihood and dignity following the ban on her profession in 2005.

“Every single day has been tough. At last I can go back to earning a decent living for my children,” she says, explaining that her income was the only means to feed the family after her husband deserted her four years ago. Kalam, who earns roughly Rs 1,000 per month washing dishes in homes, recalls how tough it was even getting odd jobs. “People in buildings wanted ID cards to employ me as a maid, but which government gives bar dancers respectable things like IDs? Even trusts refuse to pay for the children’s education.”
Kalam borrowed Rs 10,000 from the neighbourhood ‘Anna’ to send her children to school and is still struggling to pay the interest. Life before the ban was different. She worked at the Lakshadweep bar in Santa Cruz and would take home anything from Rs 200 to Rs 2,000 a day (after cuts from the bar owner). “If there were illegal activities, employment of under-age girls or bars doubling up as brothels, the government should have cracked down on those. Why hit the income of our entire profession?”
Kalam isn’t alone. Those in the know say Mumbai had roughly 75,000 bar dancers who were similarly affected, with some reportedly committing suicide.
(Name of bar girl has been changed to protect identity)