| Description |
225 pages ; 21 cm |
| Contents |
Part I: January 2005. 'Challenge me. any man, anytime' -- 'Manohar wanted me to start modeling; he said I was bootiful' -- 'A bad dancer's game is to rob, to fool a kustomer' -- 'My mother is fat, and very, very simple' -- 'I want a good break, yaar. No cut-piece, sidey role for me' -- 'To be held, even in the arms of a thief, is worth something' -- 'I too love you, Janu!' -- 'I'm going to skin your flesh and throw it to the dogs!' -- 'The luckiest girl in the world' -- 'If I fall, who will accept my outstretched hand?' -- 'I sell watermelons. Watermelons and watches' -- Part II: September 2005. 'Now that you're unemployed, how do you feel?' -- 'Everyone drinks! Everyone beats!' -- 'If anything happens, run like sita should have run from ravan!' -- 'They showed me. They showed me all night' -- 'Move on. Staw away. Leave me alone' -- 'Once these randis come upstairs, their chamri is mine' -- 'Tell me, do you see it?' |
| Summary |
Already published in India to great acclaim and named a Time Out Subcontinental Book of the Year and an Observer Book of the Year, Beautiful Thing is a stunning piece of reportage that offers a rare firsthand glimpse into Bombay?s notorious sex industry. Sonia Faleiro was a reporter in search of a story when she met nineteen-year-old Leela, a charismatic exotic dancer with a story to tell. Leela introduced Sonia to the underworld of Bombay?s dance bars: a world of glamorous women; of fierce love, sex, and violence; of gangsters, police, prostitutes, and pimps. When an ambitious politician cashed in on a tide of false morality and had Bombay?s dance bars wiped out, Leela?s proud independence faced its greatest test. In a city where almost everyone is certain that someone, somewhere, is worse off than them, she fights to survive?and to win. Sonia Faleiro has crafted one of the most original works of nonfiction about India in years. Unforgettable for its artistry and intimacy, Beautiful Thing is a vivid portrait of one reporter?s journey into the dark, damaged soul of Bombay.-- Provided by publisher. |
| Original Version |
Reprint. Orginally published: New Delhi : Hamish Hamilton, 2010. 9780670084050 |
| Subject |
Women dancers -- India -- Bombay -- Biography.
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Sex industry -- India -- Bombay.
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Women -- India -- Bombay -- Social conditions.
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Journalists -- India -- Biography.
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Bars (Drinking establishments) -- India -- Bombay.
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| ISBN |
9780802170927 |
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0802170927 |
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