Aditi Sharma - for Mumbai Mirror
 
Mumbai, March 22: Not just BPO employees, corporate chiefs and showbiz folks, even our 'pretty women' on the streets have had to readjust their lifestyles because of the late night World Cup telecast. And it gets trickier for them… the Cup has directly hit their top lines and bottom lines. Our commercial sex workers (and their pimps) are finding it tough to cope with stiff competition from cricket.

70% drop in biz!

Pimps from across the city are cribbing that cricket has begun to eat into their daily bread. They are worst hit on days India plays, even if the team has only faced 'minnows' so far. "We didn't notice a difference in the number of clients on the first few days after the World Cup began. But suddenly, on Saturday, there was a huge drop, which was unusual since it was a weekend. That's when I figured that the India-Bangladesh match was affecting our business," says Anil, a pimp who hawks his wares in Andheri West.

Another pimp from Colaba echoes Anil's view that cricket is robbing them of their prized clients. "On Saturday and Monday, we saw at least 70 per cent drop in business. Most people stayed indoors to watch the match, there were hardly any calls for girls on those two days," laments Raju.

In fact, realising that the number of clients on crucial match days is going to be lesser than usual, some pro active commercial sex workers have struck a deal with their respective pimps. "I really love watching the game, especially when Dravid and Yuvraj are playing. Anyway, there aren't enough clients when India plays, so I've decided that I will not solicit when our team is in action. I'll cheer for them instead," says Julie, a prostitute who operates with Raju.

High rates on big days

Having just a few CSWs do business, in fact, works to the pimps' advantage as they can afford to demand a premium on the few who work on match days. "Since there are only a few girls who are willing to work on match days, we land up making enough money on those who agree to work, by upping the fee. But for Friday, I've decided I'll cut down on the supply of girls because anyway there will be very few clients," says Bhaskar, a pimp from Juhu.

In Kamathipura brothels, some sex workers have decided to use the free time to catch up on street food. "Usually, we get no chance to step out at night because those are our peak business hours. Now, the day India plays, a few of us slip out to enjoy sizzling vada pav on the streets," smiles Mona, who works in Mumbai's most infamous red light area. Well, as they say, one person's loss is another's gain.