On the day a SC verdict breathed life back into dance bars, INN delves into the life of Mumbai's most famous bar girl Tarannum, who has stated that circumstances beyond her control cornered her into the business. The Supreme Court has struck down the ban on dance bars, which the state home ministry had condemned in 2005 as fronts for crime and prostitution.
But a closer look into the chain of events that got Mumbai’s most high-profile bar dancer to where she is, is telling of the motivations that drive women into the trade.
Tarannum Khan, the ‘crorepati bar dancer’, who was arrested in September 2005 in a betting racket, had revealed in a statement to the income tax department how circumstance made the occupational choice for her. INN obtained a copy of her statement. Here is an abstract:
My name is Tarannum Khan. I was born and brought up in Mumbai. My father’s name is Zafar Ulla Khan.
We are a family of six: my father, mother, younger brother, elder sister, niece and me. Every thing was fine until the communal riots of 1992 struck us and our house was ransacked. We were completely destroyed and all our belongings were stolen. My father’s business was exterminated in those riots and we became homeless.
Your honour can imagine the plight, with no money and no house. For a month we were in a relief camp in Millat Nagar, Andheri. Due to these disturbances my father became a heart patient.
He had already undergone two heart operations. He was in no position to provide us the basic necessities of life.
We were literally and practically on streets for three nights, with no food or shelter, in the Lokhandwala area. After three nights on the street my mom was ready to do anything to buy food for her kids.
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