Change of a tenner
. . . actually, make that change of a fiver perhaps.CALCUTTA: (Sonagachi field report)a) I don’t recommend India – if you are experienced at ‘going native’ you may well enjoy it as much as I did – especially the red light district of Calcutta – but it is no cake walk and I don’t want you coming back spitting chick peas. Don’t draw generalisations from these FRs – the possibilities are far too varied. Even more so, don’t assume it applies to the rest of India: it doesn’t, and every city is different.
b) I do recommend you read everything on ISG and WSG, read it again, then realise you still know very little – you have to learn on the ground really (though this is much easier if you are Indian and speak local dialects).
c) Don’t go. India is not Bangkok or Rio or Soho. It is one of the hardest mongering markets to crack after Japan. If you are big and brave enough to ignore this warning, then you don’t need my field report lol!
Orientation: Sonagachi is a small complex of narrow streets and alleyways, mostly brothels, located roughly between Shovabazar and Girish Park districts, just north of central Calcutta. Take a compass, then take the Metro. The side furthest away from the main street between these two Metro stops is less expensive and a tad less ‘safe’ in my experience. And perhaps better. But the main houses (expensive ones) are more reassuring for a first visit. General pricing guides on ISG/WSG. Contrary to the excellent info on ISG & WSG though, I found the pimps next to useless – mostly on account of language barriers perhaps. Although a 24hr area, the main action is 11am-11pm. I made two scouting trips at 11am and 11pm to get a feel of the place, but unsuccessfully as far as getting anything to my taste. All exteriors are dirty and unattractive, but the interiors, depending on price, can be ‘fit for a sultan.’ RO and DFK and even OW/OWO are uncommon according to ISG and I never felt these were on offer, though it didn’t bother me. Sexually, the women I punted with were unsophisticated by European, South American or even Thai standards. They seem aware of safe sex. Apart from that, every variation under the sun. I found it is a case of looking for gems in the rough (very rough, often exceedingly ugly), or settling for average-attractive to quite-good-looking in the best brothels. With negotiations generally, I insisted beforehand on, no mobile phones, lights on while time, all clothes off. The lowest price I was offered was 200Rs (just under £3), although the excellent and non-judgemental Oscar-winning documentary,
Born Into Brothels, quotes the starting price as being as low as 10Rs.
Subsequent punts:
1. £30 best part of an hour. Not a punt as such, but a ‘dance’, which costs the same. After haggling down from 4,000 rupees (£56 – although ‘starting’ prices on my reconnaissance were as high as 10,000, or £140 – ISG confirms that the going rate for the top venues is 2100Rs / £30 so I stuck to that until she agreed.) The dance is Bollywood style, worth it for a one-off experience, and the last couple of tracks are with her naked and inviting me up for a dance to feel her tits and pussy.
Girl: attractive enough, about 20yrs old, professional attitude, going through the motions of providing a good service.
Time: early evening.
Room: Fairly plush by average Calcutta standards, clean, well-furnished and so on.
Value for money: OK for the one-off experience.2. £8, short time but unhurried.Very attractive but understated (not heavy make-up) young woman catches my eye, standing with many other hookers on the street, beckoning. Agree a price of600Rs (about £8.40). She leads me down a twisty-turny alleyway. I keep an eye on my back. One girl who may or may not be following. She leads me up a darkened stair, out onto a first-floor courtyard, and then to a small room. When she strips off, her body is perfect, firm and unblemished. Lie on the bed and foreplay until she is aroused, missionary. What seems to be a very genuine intensity – there is nothing feigned (apart perhaps from the politeness that goes with the job).
Girl: about 19years maybe, attractive face and very attractive body, good attitude.
Time: mid/late evening.
Room: cramped but clean.
Value for money: superb.3. £7, withheld after attempts at price hike.Good looking woman, similar scenario to the last one. But when I get inside the room she attempts to up-sell. I resist and she persists to the point that I judge the mood has been lost. She is still holding my 500Rs note (£7) so I take it from her hand with a swift motion before she realises I am doing so, thank her, and start to leave. At this point she gets quite stroppy, attempting to bar my way. I walk gently but very firmly out of her door. She comes after me, again barring my way to the narrow staircase onto the lower terrace, this time grabbing a handful of my shirt tightly in her fist. Fortunately it is cheap Indian cotton, but I am never happy with attempts at intimidation. I keep talking to her in a calm voice, trying to prise her fingers off. I spot two men on the lower terrace, and speak calmly and gently to them, explaining the situation, unaware of whether they speak English. (Note: getting angry or raising one’s voice in India is generally seen as a sign of stupidity/weakness and will generally not get you anywhere, plus I have no idea whether these guys will want to extract a fee/wallet themselves). I use body language to appeal quietly, calmly and authoritatively. I sense she is losing her moral high ground and prise her fingers off, holding her at arm’s length with my forearm. Walk down the steps and chat to the guys, one of whom speaks some English. Do some convivial male-bonding small-talk. Get them on-side. She backs off to her room.
Girl: about 20yrs, attractive face and attitude, but attitude became confrontational in the room.
Room: cramped, clean.
Value for money: any price is not worth it if the vibe is wrong.4. £14, somewhat less than an hour.Bengali woman, mid-twenties, speaks ‘reasonably good’ English (ie enough for very basic conversation), has beautifully applied make-up, nice manners. This is in one of the upmarket establishments, but I am here a little after midday so it is relatively easy to get her to agree to 1000Rs (£14). When she strips off her breasts are a little droopy but she is ok were it not for a long list of no-no’s and constant instructions (slower, faster, harder, careful, like this, not there, and so on, and so on. It was done with utmost politeness, but after a while I just got bored and stopped.
Girl: mid-twenties, nice face, average body.
Room: luxurious (you’d pay 10K just for the bed in the West).
Value for money: poor.
5. £3, a pleasant enough 20 minutes or so (until I was ‘satisfied’ lol).In the room, she threw in a sexy Bollywood dance for free, choreographing it so she could rub herself against me in different ways and in different positions. This was a lot more fun than the £31 dance I had had in the upmarket location, although the room was more cramped. She did have a slightly unsightly abdominal scar but it didn’t worry me. She was warm and enthusiastic. Affectionately washed my cock afterwards and laid out my socks for me.
Girl: early twenties, petite, nice face, superb attitude.
Room: lower mid-range, clean but cramped (not room for much apart from the double bed, as with the other places I visited outside of the top tier houses).
Value for money: excellent.6. £7, about half an hour.I had flirted with several of the girls on a previous night, deciding which I liked. She was the most reserved, in the sense of not pushing herself forward for business, but she had a cheeky smile and I found it easy to share laughs with her. One of the houses on the less expensive side of Sonagachi, Durga Charan Mitra Street I believe it’s called.
Girl: mid-twenties.
Room: lower middle range, cramped but clean.
Value for money: quite good.Happy punting.
