Kolkata: Durga Puja street graffiti narrates sex workers' tale
What's the story
A street graffiti dedicated to the life and struggle of the sex workers was unveiled by a Durga Puja organizer in North Kolkata today. The graffiti, painted on a 300 feet long stretch of a road in Ahiritola area, tells the tale of hardships and the circumstances that force a woman to get into the flesh trade. Here are more details.
Details
Graffiti has been designed on the lives of brothel inmates
"Our aim is to spread awareness among people to highlight the life and struggle of a sex worker," Uttam Saha, working president of Ahiritola Jubakbrinda Durga Puja Committee, said. Graffiti has been designed on the lives of inmates of the Sonagachhi brothel, stated to be Asia's largest red light area. Interestingly, soil from a brothel is an essential ingredient for making of Durga idol.
Artists say
Lively, gloomy colors used to illustrate life of sex workers
"Both lively and gloomy colors were used in the graffiti illustrating various shades of the life of a sex worker," said artist Soumen Sarkar, who participated in the project. "A woman becomes a sex worker either due to trafficking or for the sake of running her family... There can't be disparity when we celebrate womanhood in goddess Durga's form," Manas Roy, another artist, said.
Sex workers
'Really happy that such a theme has been taken up'
From a door with three women peeping from inside to a distorted 'kumkum' line on a woman's forehead signifying her tragedy, the graffiti depicts the touching story of this community, Sarkar said. "We are really happy that such a theme has been taken up," said Santana Das of Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an umbrella organization of the state's sex workers having over 1,30,000 members.