Born Into Brothels: My perception

At a time when every Indian is crying hoarse over the blackening portrait of the motherland, a non- Indian researcher Ms. Zana Briski had the courage to stand up and do something instead of sitting in the comfortable arms of the sofa in front of the television, pausing the feast of Paneer Tikkas for a moment to curse the ‘poor’, the ‘weak’ the ‘sluts’; holding them responsible for the present scenario only to resume enjoying the delicious food.

The documentary ‘Born into Brothels’ by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman left me deep in thought. Zana Briski not only made the documentary but did a lot more. It was the heart- wrenching story or I’d rather say reality of the shadowy part of India unbeknownst to most of us. The documentary unveiled the underbelly of a so- called ‘metropolitan city’- Kolkata. Revolving around the lives of the children of prostitutes, the filming as the name suggests was done inside a brothel which is not an easy task considering the condition of the brothels.

There were moments in the movie which managed to strike the chords of my heart like the scene in which a 9- 10 year old boy says that he would like to break free from the 'hell' and take the girl he liked with him and go to some other place to study. There were moments which made me smile (at the kids’ innocence), moments that made my heart leap up with joy like the scene where the kids go to a beach for the first time, moments when my heart cried with the silenced cries of the kids (at their anguish and unshared pain of living in such a condition), moments which made me heave a sigh of relief (when all the children were tested HIV negative) and moments which won my appreciation(the efforts put in by Ms. Zana to teach the children photography and get them admitted to a school). What inspired me was the way the children looked at the world. They had a positive approach towards life in spite of bearing so much pain.

I was especially moved by a kid’s statement "We have nothing called ‘hope’ in our future." The statement has remained etched in my mind and one day I aspire (like Zana Briski) to become that ‘hope.’ I too want to make an entry into their lives as a golden ray. Someday, maybe they too (the kids) will laugh that carefree laughter; they too will cry a child’s cry. Someday, they too will get back their lost childhood.