'Urban Undesirable' scrutinises lives of sex workers in Bengaluru

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A new book titled ‘Urban Undesirables’ throws light on street based sex workers in Bengaluru. The book was launched on Friday at Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS).

The book is written by Neethi P and Anant Kamath. Kamath describes the book as “Bengaluru through the eyes of a sex worker.” Both of them interviewed around 60 sex workers across the city for the book.

“The sex workers included women, transgender people, and men. We did comprehensive research before writing the book,” said Neethi. Neethi added that, unlike Mumbai, Bengaluru doesn’t have a specific allotted red-light area. That's the reason sex workers can be spotted all over the city. “Perceptions towards them have changed a lot, and the book shows how, over the last three decades, the definition and perception of sex work have changed,” she said.

 Ananth said that it took six years to complete the book and includes elaborate narratives from NGos like Sangama and the police. “The book required extensive work. Each interview and each discussion were done in multiple rounds. Many academic papers have been written about sex workers, but still, a major part of their lives remains undocumented,” said Ananth.

 The book is published globally by Cambridge University Press and is available online and in bookshops