13
Mar
I see three 14 year old kids coming out of a room and complaining about something. One is wearing a kurta and glasses. I fear for a moment that he would recognize me. How would I explain that this is my first time? I move on.
Then I see small children roaming around. I suddenly know that they’re the sons and daughters of prostitutes. That kind of knowledge or realization can only occur in dreams.
But I’m not sad for them. Instead I’m happy to see them. They’re playing around diyas. Suddenly I realize that I’m in a temple inside the brothel and the diyas are meant for pooja.
For a second it seems that my laughter is coming from a TV set, but that thought passes. This I know is a kind of security room for the brothel. I feel safe here. I take a seat and sit down.
I see a burkha clad woman descending the steps. As she reaches the corridor, she starts running. I can’t see her feet but I can tell that by her speed. She moves over a diya and I see a flicker of a flame. Then she starts descending the steps further down. I see her burkha is on fire.
I run after her descending the steps in a frenzy, matching her speed exactly. I shout,”Your burkha is on fire!” She doesn’t look back.
I know she’s a prostitute running away from something. I shout after her but to no use. Then I realize what’s going on. She’s running away from this place.
We’re downstairs now and she runs out of the brothel compound and into the house in front. I’m back at the front gate. The short man says “10 Rs.”. I’m about to say that I already paid when he says,”escape from the back”.
I see a few people running to the back gate along with me. We’re about to descend further steps to the exit when I see a police jeep. I run back to the front and the guy says,”You’re on your own”.
I laugh at the irony of the whole situation. I look out of the front compound gate and see some more police jeeps. I suddenly see a flight of stairs leading down to a basement sorta thing. I rush down and see a man guarding the bottom steps. He signals me to go back up. I say something. He understands and lets me pass.
Once inside the basement I see two paths. I go to the left one and see a row of blue walls with pan spit on them. Something tells me its dangerous to go there.
I take the path on the right and go to a room inside. It looks like a huge office with cream coloured paint. There are people inside wearing headphones. It seems they’re intercepting the police broadcasts. One policeman utters some obscenities and I start laughing.
For the record…I’ve never really been to a brothel 
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