sex

"sex".... not a particularly catchy title for a blog isnt it? atleast not in the positive connotation ;)
its generally looked upon, as something hushed up within the four walls of a bedroom, in most traditional indian families. but, the world changes, people change, what used to be, never is.
and then came something condemnable, something not spoken of in any august occasion, something elders say is a shame to the inherent goodness in any man.....prostitution.

Prostitutes - a living example of the fact that there are two sides to a story, the other side of the "happily ever after"... rather "happily never after". I think prostitutes are one of the few classes of people looked upon differently by different people. To an old man, who after faithfully serving his wife for thirty years is now on his death bed, prostitution is one of those sins, rather the only sin that completely demolishes a soul, denigrates it to such an extent, that no amount of penitence can bring back your dignity. To a middle aged married man, who appears to head a perfectly happy family, the prostitute would be an option, probably the last, but definitely an option, that would fulfil his needs, without asundering his family. It is like a one time down payment, quickly accomplished and forgotten. To the philosophers and writers, prostitutes have always been an enigma, their very presence serves to taint the divinity of sex, and hence, very often their living, has centered many discussions, controversies on what sex really is, if it is solely meant to be purposeful or something more?

Prostitutes unfortunately fall in that grey area no one wants to fray into. Its easier to segregate life and everyone in it, into white and black isnt it? No questions asked and hence none remain unanswered.
All I want to attempt to do right now is to just take a peep into that grey area, not to see the rights and wrongs of it, but the undercurrent of life that prevails in them. I have read a few articles, and heard several debates about the spiritual aspect of sex - the ultimate pleasure that comes out of the unison of two souls. Being a scientist, to me it is awe-inspiring that such a simple physical act, can generate "life", in one of its simplest, yet most amazing forms- a single cell, the zygote! How the zygote turns into one of the most complex organisms in the entire animal kingdom is yet another story. But this generation of life, in as little time as a few milliseconds, continues to intrigue me, as it is the only life-generating natural processes man goes through in his lifecycle. Rather not just man, any animal. The creation of new life, life that is going to persist, prevail and perpetuate. The capabilities of the human mind, never fail to surprise me, they seem to be rising with every passing day, but in my opinion, nothing can equal the creation of new life, cells capable of self-replication, blooming into a fully developed mature individual. And then one day, you look back, and you say.. ahh did i make that?!! whatever be the quality of the final product, a certain amount of pride is always part of the resultant emotion isnt it? And so it is not surprising that, such a physical act, that adds on a new dimension to life, should be made use of as a trade, something that can be bought and sold. It is reduced to a mere commodity, that often comes cheap, depending on the circumstances.
It definitely leaves a bitter feeling isnt it. In fact the mere thought of this invokes such a stinging bitterness, that am convinced, it cannot escape those very much involved in perpetrating the act. Sometimes I think, all of us have it in us to commit mistakes, culpable, severely punishable, and it boils down to just how much each of us are pushed beyond the edge, when we loose all discretion, and just do the things that seem to serve as a vent for our frustrations and depressions. always living to regret it. sometimes the things that push us, are expectations, sometimes its our own dreams, sometimes its the realisation that some else is going to make it faster than you, and sometimes its just the need to live, to get enough money to feed yourself, so that you can wake up the next day, and be a part of the living world, that unfortunately continues to move on, irrespective of whether you move with it or not.
I have seldom heard people mention this, but prostitution isnt a decision, it isnt a choice, well even if it is, its a very unbalanced choice between living and dying, how you choose to earn a living, is obviously secondary to the fact that you actually want to live.
And when buyers exist, the commodity never ceases to perish. What gives rise to these buyers is an entirely different issue, but what matters is they exist and hence the demand. Its like a circle, no beginning and no end. But society is definitely a part of their existence. To most people, sex(apart from the spiritual aspect of it) is a source of a euphoric intoxicating pleasure. But when the same sex, serves to be a reason for some ones existence, it is condemned. I am quite convinced this argument has logical fallacies.
Its so much more easier to condemn the black sheep than accept them as part of the herd and move on, isnt it?
Yes these are people who have fallen between the cracks, they are trampled, their weaknesses made use of, and opportunites that could have been helpful to them, ceased.
i wonder what society has to say?