Uma

Uma has put on a heavy makeup while she is standing in the mid of a busy street. She is wearing blue jeans and a tight pink T-shirt. She works in the famous red light area of the city. The city is Delhi, our capital city.

A flood of men pass before her, some looks at her with a bodily thirst; while some unaware of the area, pass uninterested. What sort of livelihood is this? She caters to the bodily need of men. This means business. People involved in it tend to have no honor. They are the outcast of the so-called civilized and over-proud society. Due to the illegal trafficking of women, including children, there is no line between people who actually want to use sex to earn money and those who are forced into it by the pimps and the third men.

It's cloudy today. It may rain. Police station is at a walking distance from where Uma stands. A man has looked at her with a lower gaze. He may be interested in her. He stopped with a shaking leg and asks for the price. "No, it won't do! You have to give 500!", Uma whispered.

Man agreed and been led to the narrow lane behind her. There is music in the air. There are people passing through the lane. There are several small chambers where other women are sitting, some applying make-up on their face and perhaps preparing for the evening forward, some plainly chatting along with others.

Man is asked to pay and get the receipt at the counter, where a guy with big moustache is sitting. At the wall behind the counter, images of Gods are nailed. After paying, he was asked to go inside a smaller chamber where his thirst would be taken care off. Besides that chamber is another one where a small girl is playing with her doll. Her face is casually similar to the Man's own daughter, who is at home, safe and preparing for the examination in the coming week.

Man has not yet unstripped his pants. He took another glance at the child girl. Something happened to him. It seems as if he is relieved of a heavy load. He asked Uma with all kindness to keep the money and thanked her before flowing out of the lane in seconds... He was untensed. He was expressionless. In these troubled times of pandemic, Uma couldn't but accept the money as she has to cater to her own family. She is a human, indeed. Anyway, the receipt is nonrefundable. In a minute, Uma is again standing in the same place looking for another customer..