Dancing with wolves

Gagan K. Teja in Patiala

When Patiala-based Amandeep Kaur was barely 14, she realized the flexibility of her feet; their emotionless rhythm, their directionless movement, their fidgety flip over a soulless lyric. She wanted to make some money to live. She has got enough; a life she has, only meant to meet that end of making more money. She is a dancer at wedding parties, where money blindfolds reason allowing everyone, except her, to shoot — literally and metaphorically — words of no substance. Death in such circumstances is purely accidental, unrevisable, yet too simplistically understandable. 

“Loki sochde ne je sanu nachan vaste paise ditte ne te sanu mul khareed leya (people think if they have paid us for dancing, they have bought us),” says Amandeep. 

She started out as an orchestra dancer. Now 26, she has seen and experienced it all: those piercing eyes, lewd remarks, drunken men coming on to the stage and forcibly trying to touch her; many trying to approach her with all sorts of proposals. She has learnt to take it all; she has to earn a living. 

Her home life had started cracking after her parents’ divorce. She had to leave home when she was only 14. She approached a contractor who hired anyone willing to dance at weddings. Her journey began. She did household chores for the contractor during off season and danced during the wedding season. She saved a little money, brought her younger sister along and sent her to school. She then married her off and got married soon after.

“I have not met a girl who came into this out of pleasure of dancing. The life of an orchestra dancer is one of helplessness. Most people don’t show any respect towards the female artistes and give us indecent names. We have our families and they admire the kind of sacrifice we are making to give a decent life to our children,” she said. 

Preet (32) and her husband Mandeep Singh are both orchestra artistes. She has a four-month-old son but is already back on the stage as the wedding season lasts only about four months and for the remaining eight months, they either sit back idle or get hardly any outdoor assignment in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai. 

“We are artistes, but no one notices that. They only try to take advantage of our constraints. While booking the programmes, they promise to behave and ensure our safety. But the same men, when drunk, misbehave with us during the functions. Recently, when a friend lost her cool and shouted back after a youth touched her deliberately and repeatedly, his friends stopped the function mid-way and said it was funny that ‘prostitutes’ were talking about decency. It is disgusting.”

She says firing in weddings is very common in Punjab and usually men from the groom’s side see it as an expression of joy. Her husband Mandeep feels that government needs to put some restrictions to ensure safety of artistes. “It is difficult to control men.” 

Prikshit Singh Virdi, owner of Virdi International Group, accepts that most of these women are very needy. “Depending on their experience, these women are paid between Rs 3,000 and Rs 10,000 per function. Though we try to provide maximum security, we can’t promise full protection,” he said. 

The police say though there have been many complaints of misbehaviour with female artistes, most are sorted out “on the spot.” “We have again told all marriage palaces to put up a board disallowing firearms inside marriage palaces. The owners should also put up metal detectors,” says Patiala SSP Gurmeet Singh Chauhan.

The owners cite practical problems in following police instructions. Manvinder Singh Goldy, owner of Silver Oak Marriage Palace, says putting up metal detectors is not practical. “Marriage palaces have multiples entries and open areas. It is virtually impossible to monitor the guests when dozens of them enter together.” 

The onus of security thus falls on artistes. “DJ owners and the male artists ensure the safety of female colleagues. We also file complaints, but usually mutual understanding with family members is reached after an apology,” said Rajesh Bagan, president of the Patiala DJ and Orchestra Association.