A Conservative Rebel

On July 21, 2005, the Bill to ban the dance bars in Maharashtra was Hypocritical Morality passed unanimously at the end of a ‘marathon debate’. It was a sad day Mumbai’s Ban on Bar Dancers for some of us paltry group of women activists, who had supported the bar Flavia Agnes dancers and opposed the ban. We were far outnumbered by the pro-ban group, the ‘Dance Bar Virodhi Manch’ had committed suicide because she declared, ‘We are not Taliban, but who had submitted 150,000 signatures did not get a job. He said it was more somewhere we have to put a stop. The to the Maharashtra state assembly dignified to commit suicide than moral policing we do, it is a good thing, insisting on the closure of dance bars. dance in bars. And the House but it is not enough … we need to do The ban comes into effect from applauded! The message for women even more of this moral policing.’ August 15. is clear: If you happen to be born in a Suddenly the term ‘moral policing’ had We were sad, not because we were poor family, you are better off dead! been turned into a hallowed phrase! outnumbered, not even because the Yet another congratulated the Deputy These comments were not from the ruling party members who had Bill was passed unanimously, but Home Minister for taking this bold and revolutionary step, but this was not tabled the Bill. They were from the because of the manner in which an enough. He urged that “hotels with Opposition. Their traditional role is to important issue relating to women was three stars… five stars, disco dancing criticize a bill, to puncture holes in it, discussed, the comments that were …belly dancing … all that is vulgar… to present a counter viewpoint. But passed on the floor of the House, by every thing should be banned, except on that day, the House was united our elected representatives, who are Bharatnatyam and Kathak.” across party lines and all were playing under the constitutional mandate to Legislators opined that – western, to the gallery with their moral one- protect the dignity of women! English and Tamil films are all upmanship. Even the Shiv Sena Subsequently, we have heard obscene. But they did not say a word whose party high command is linked rumours that some of these comments about Hindi and Marathi films to a couple of dance bars in the city, have been withdrawn and will not be presumably because these belong to supported the ban. And the Marxists reflected in the reported proceedings. “amchi Mumbai”. were at one with the Shiv Sainiks. The But this cannot obviate the fact that Then another esteemed member speech by the CPI(M) member was this is the way our elected representatives think about women. One of the comments was aimed at us. ‘These women who are opposing the ban, we will make their mothers dance….’ (The comments have to be translated into Marathi to gauge its impact.) During the campaign we had been asked, ‘Will you send your daughter to dance in a bar?’ But on the floor of the House, the situation had regressed, from our daughters to our mothers! They sniggered: “Isha Koppikar… she is an atom bomb, atom bomb…” This evoked great deal of laughter and cheer… “The dancers wear only 20 per cent clothes”… More laughter and cheering… “These women who dance naked (nanga nach), they don’t deserve any sympathy”. A round of applause. “We are only imitating those you admire!” bar dancers protest holding a An esteemed member narrated an placard of film star Aishwarya Rai in a dance sequence. incident of his friend’s daughter who 10 MANUSHI more scathing than the rest. The The prevalence of dance bars is sexy ‘item numbers’ and the dancers women members, though a small linked not only to the restaurant in the bars imitated these item numbers minority, happily cheered the barrage industry and the entertainment during their performances. against bar dancers. business, but also to the state policy The Government also issued The ‘morality’ issue had won. The on the sale of liquor. After licenses for performance of ‘cabaret ‘livelihood’ issue had lost. Independence, during the fifties, when shows’. A place that was notorious How the state will effect this ban, Morarji Desai was Chief Minister, the for its lewd and obscene cabaret when through its own admission out State of Bombay was under performances is ‘Blue Nile’ which was of around 1300 dance bars only 307 prohibition and restaurants could not constantly raided and was entangled are legal and authorized, is something serve liquor. But after Maharashtra in lengthy litigation. It was this we will have to wait and watch. severed its links with the Gujarat side litigation that forced the High Court Liquor and Entertainment of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, to examine the notion of obscenity The bar dancer is a part of the the newly formed state reviewed its under S.294 of the Indian Penal Code city’s thriving nightlife. Bombay never liquor policy and the prohibition era (IPC), an issue I will deal with more sleeps. The city is hailed as the was transformed into the ‘permit’ era. elaborately later in this essay. crowning glory of the nation’s A place where beer was served was Soon the sale of liquor and entertainment industry. From the time called a ‘permit room’. Only a person consequently the profit margins of when the East India Company who had obtained a ‘permit’ could sit the owners recorded an upward trend. developed Mumbai as a port and built in a permit room and drink beer. This encouraged the owners of other a fort in the seventeenth century, But gradually, the term ‘permit Irani ‘permit room’ restaurants, South Bombay has been a city of migrants. room’ lost its meaning and the Indian eateries and Punjabi dhabas Migrants come to the city in search government went all out to promote to convert their places into dance of livelihoods and with the workers liquor sale in hotels and restaurants. It bars. Coincidentally, during the same have come the entertainers. was during this period, sometime in the period, the mujra culture in Mumbai The traders, the sailors, the seventies, that permit rooms and beer was facing loss of patronage and was dockworkers, the construction bars started introducing innovative on the decline. As the waitresses in labourers and the mill hands - all devices to beat their competitors — the ‘ladies service bars’ during this needed to be ‘entertained’. So the live orchestra, mimicry and ‘ladies early period were from Kamathipura, government marked areas for service bars’ where women from the which also housed the mujras, this entertainment called ‘play houses’ red light district were employed as new demand for bar dancers reached which are referred to in the local waitresses. these traditional dancers and many parlance even today as ‘pilay house’ The licenses to hold performances sought jobs in dance bars. Even for areas. Folk theatre, dance and music were issued under Rules for Licensing daughters of sex workers, this was a performances and, later, silent movie and Controlling Places of Public step forward — from brothel theatres all grew around the ‘play Amusement (other than Cinemas) and prostitution to dance bars. houses’ and so did the sex trade. Performances for Public Amusement Soon the phenomenon of ‘dance Hence Kamathipura - a name which including Melas and Thamashas, bars’ spread from South Bombay to denoted the dwelling place of a 1960. But soon the low quality Central Bombay, to the Western and community of construction labourers, orchestra and gazal singing lost its Central suburbs, to the satellite cities the Kamtis of Andhra Pradesh, later sheen. Some bars then introduced live of New Bombay and Panvel, and from came to signal the sex trade or ‘red dance performances to recorded music there, along the arterial roads, to other light’ district of the old Bombay city. smaller cities and towns of Within the red light district there were or live orchestras. Around this time, Hindi films also started introducing Maharashtra. From a mere 24 dance also places for performance of bars in 1985-86, the number increased traditional and classical dance and tenfolds within a decade to around music, and the mujra houses. How will the state effect 210. The next decade 1995-2005 The city of migrants — this ban, when through witnessed yet another phenomenal predominantly male migrants — also its own admission out of increase. As per a rough estimate, needed cheap eating-places. To cater presently there are around 1300 dance to their needs initially there were Irani around 1300 dance bars bars in Maharashtra. restaurants, Chilia (Muslim) only 307 are legal and As the demand grew, women from restaurants and later South Indian authorized ? traditional dancing / performance (Udupi) joints and Punjabi dhabas. communities of different parts of No.149 11 India, who were facing a decline in patronage of their age-old profession, flocked to Mumbai (and later to the smaller cities) to work in dance bars. These women from traditional communities have been victims of the conflicting forces of modernization. Women are the primary breadwinners in these communities. But after the Zamindari system introduced by the British was abolished, they lost their zamindar patrons and were reduced to penury. Even the few developmental schemes and welfare policies of the government bypassed many of these communities. From their villages, Faces covered to hide identity, bar dancers at a demostration, March 2005 many moved to cities, towns and along national highways in search occurred during the Shiv Sena-BJP maximum gain to the State of a livelihood.

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