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Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi's Red Light District
The sex workers of Kotha No. 300 raise their children, cook for their lovers, visit temples, shrines and mosques, complain about pimps and brothel owners, listen to film songs, and solicit and entertain customers.
By following the daily lives of the denizens of one kotha, Mayank Austen Soofi paints an intimate portrait of women for whom sex is work—a way to make a living.
With precise details and haunting photographs, Soofi delicately and carefully etches the everyday world of those who inhabit the peripheries of society.
By following the daily lives of the denizens of one kotha, Mayank Austen Soofi paints an intimate portrait of women for whom sex is work—a way to make a living.
With precise details and haunting photographs, Soofi delicately and carefully etches the everyday world of those who inhabit the peripheries of society.
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2012
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823 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
March 6, 2016
Maybe it is because I haven't read the blog or lived in Delhi, but I found this lacking in some places. Perhaps, it was I found it funny that Soofi gets upset when one woman doesn't tell him everything, but he doesn't tell the reader everything either.
It's strange. The writing, in terms of straight style, is good, but I found something off about the tone.
It's strange. The writing, in terms of straight style, is good, but I found something off about the tone.
February 1, 2013
Hello Delhiwallah...
Upto the mark. You set the standards too high with the blog. And one can expect nothing less than that. The best thing about the book is your sincere attempt to throw some light over their lives without making the mistake of judging them. And at some places when the judgemental humanbeing raised its voice calling their lives uncivilised, you just tried to analyse yourselves. One can never be perfect. The conception of a perfect human being may be beautiful but is highly impossible. Every humanbeing has their own persona and life. And here in this world of today, we are no one to call someone wrong. Who knows what their perspective is and What their lives are about.Some lines even struck the chords.
"These women.They are so open, yet so closed.Their bodies are commodities, available to anybody who can pay.Their life stories, especially when they focus on why they became sex workers, are almost identical.But there is something in each women that makes her distinct.There is no person like Sushma in the world, and I am frustrated by my inability to grasp the essence of her personality.
She shares her feelings wth me but only to an extent and only on occasion.It is the same with Roopa, Nighat and Mamta.They guard their thoughts and memories more closely than others. Could it be they cherish the secrecy because there is no secrecy about their bodies?"
I guess it is a natural trait for women in general. Being so open sometimes and yet so closed.
The book took a neutral stand to expose the true colors of the lives of these women. Though the name of te place does not matter much, it added the feel & touch of reality to the journal.
Will surely wait for your next Soofi.
Upto the mark. You set the standards too high with the blog. And one can expect nothing less than that. The best thing about the book is your sincere attempt to throw some light over their lives without making the mistake of judging them. And at some places when the judgemental humanbeing raised its voice calling their lives uncivilised, you just tried to analyse yourselves. One can never be perfect. The conception of a perfect human being may be beautiful but is highly impossible. Every humanbeing has their own persona and life. And here in this world of today, we are no one to call someone wrong. Who knows what their perspective is and What their lives are about.Some lines even struck the chords.
"These women.They are so open, yet so closed.Their bodies are commodities, available to anybody who can pay.Their life stories, especially when they focus on why they became sex workers, are almost identical.But there is something in each women that makes her distinct.There is no person like Sushma in the world, and I am frustrated by my inability to grasp the essence of her personality.
She shares her feelings wth me but only to an extent and only on occasion.It is the same with Roopa, Nighat and Mamta.They guard their thoughts and memories more closely than others. Could it be they cherish the secrecy because there is no secrecy about their bodies?"
I guess it is a natural trait for women in general. Being so open sometimes and yet so closed.
The book took a neutral stand to expose the true colors of the lives of these women. Though the name of te place does not matter much, it added the feel & touch of reality to the journal.
Will surely wait for your next Soofi.
February 4, 2013
A soft focus, sensitive, movingly tender account of the lives of prostitutes plying their trade in Delhi's GB Road. This slim 200 page hard back volume complete with evocative photos is an admirable study by someone with huge empathy and not much moral judgment. It bring alive the human beings behind the job description. It also largely declines to focus on the seedy ugly crass side of the dramatis personae. If you are a passionate Delhi-wallah determined to understand the city in all its subtle hues, this is good addition to your libarary.
I did not give it more than three stars because I want my non fiction to be much more data dense and much thinner on the atmospheric hoptedoodle. I did not give it less than three stars because Mayank Soofi writes beautifully and it would be absurd to score lower.
Most anyone else would probably give it four stars.
I did not give it more than three stars because I want my non fiction to be much more data dense and much thinner on the atmospheric hoptedoodle. I did not give it less than three stars because Mayank Soofi writes beautifully and it would be absurd to score lower.
Most anyone else would probably give it four stars.
March 5, 2020
In the book Mayank presents a very observant and first hand view of life in GB road which is the red light area in Delhi. He does through an unfiltered lense by acquainting us to the women in kotha no 300 and the kotha Malik. We get to understand the back story of these women what brought them here, how they raise their children, their belief in faith and God and their dreams. Mayank really gets to the crux and he does so by striking a friendship with these women which makes the narrative intimate.
A very interesting facet in the book is we learn the history of red light area in Delhi. We get to understand how these red light area were not just a place where just sex trade used to take place. Infact here the women entertained by singing and dancing to thumri and classical music. Also very often people from rich background used to send their sons to these areas to learn from these women etiquettes like how to make love, how to talk with women and even how to eat paan in the proper way. As I read about this I strongly could feel some resemblance with the Geishas. The author further shows how slowly this type of environment vanished and now basically it has boiled down to just sex trade.
Another interesting facet in the book was how when these women try to restart their life often they do not find acceptance in society at large and are again pushed back here.
The book is resplendent with Mayank's style of storytelling there is no sensationalism or over dramatic usage of scenes or words. But, in its simplicity it conveys a lot and brings out the humaneness of GB road which is often seen as a dark road where evil lurks & best avoided.
A very interesting facet in the book is we learn the history of red light area in Delhi. We get to understand how these red light area were not just a place where just sex trade used to take place. Infact here the women entertained by singing and dancing to thumri and classical music. Also very often people from rich background used to send their sons to these areas to learn from these women etiquettes like how to make love, how to talk with women and even how to eat paan in the proper way. As I read about this I strongly could feel some resemblance with the Geishas. The author further shows how slowly this type of environment vanished and now basically it has boiled down to just sex trade.
Another interesting facet in the book was how when these women try to restart their life often they do not find acceptance in society at large and are again pushed back here.
The book is resplendent with Mayank's style of storytelling there is no sensationalism or over dramatic usage of scenes or words. But, in its simplicity it conveys a lot and brings out the humaneness of GB road which is often seen as a dark road where evil lurks & best avoided.
March 12, 2013
‘Nobody Can Love You More’ by Mayank Austen Soofi is an attempt to bring out the ordinariness in the extraordinary lives of the women of GB Road, the notorious red light area of Delhi. The author is gently probing, deeply observant and extremely patient in following the lives of sex workers of kotha (brothel) number teen sau (300) for three years. The best thing about this book is that though it keenly observes, it never judges; neither does it seeks pity for those women. It never interferes in your own inferences as a reader.
The author started going to GB Road to teach English to Sabir Bhai’s (a brothel owner) children. The children lost interest in English after a couple of months but Soofi found himself “fascinated by the ordinary aspects of the lives of people who, I think, have been shepherded by circumstances into living extraordinary lives.”
Kotha (brothel) number teen sau houses the malik, Sabir Bhai and five women – Sushma, Fatima, Phalak, Nighat and Sumaira (and Mamta and Roopa for some time). Soofi finds it easy to talk to the elderly Sushma who talks about her experiences, her distant past and her dreaded future, her ‘working hours’; and even cooks for him.
In the stories of these women, are the reflections of several others who are cooped up in the dingy brothels (80 of them) in 42 buildings of GB Road. There are chapters on the lives of sex workers, their children, the brothel owners, pimps, people connected to the sex workers or GB Road like shopkeepers below their brothels, priests and caretakers of a temple and a Sufi shrine, people who knew about the evolution of these brothels over the years, and so on. Each chapter starts with a black and white picture that sums it up.
Although the author is repulsed by the idea of eating food, drinking water or sharing meals there, because of the filth and lack of hygiene; yet he understands that he cannot expect them to open their hearts to him if he does not even agrees to share food. He admits that sometimes it was suffocating and depressing to be part of lives of those people; his own life was in complete contrast to their’s.
The lives of sex workers are surprisingly ordinary. They cook, pray, raise children, fight among themselves, earn money and have ‘working’ hours. They do not behave differently anywhere except at the place of their trade and during their ‘business hours’. They are modest in places of worship, and like any other customer when in a shop.
It is interesting to find out about the evolution of kothas over the years. Earlier rich and royalty used to be their patrons. The nautch girls were associated with courtesy, etiquettes and sophistication. Things took a dramatic turn after independence, and more importantly after Emergency. Over the years, the condition of kothas deteriorated. Now the red-light districts are full of dingy, dirty, tiny cells where women sleep with strangers for a measly sum of Rs 100-200 and a constant fear of losing youth. Their mannerisms are crude and in-your-face.
What stood out for me was how their daily routines were effortlessly entangled with the conversations with Soofi. On one hand Sushma talks about her past, while she cooks dal for him and also wonders how he can have just boiled dal. Also, in the scene where Soofi is conversing with Roopa and Nighat, they behave like any other ‘shopkeeper’. When they get customers, they go with them, return in a couple of minutes, take the money, ask the customers to come back again, and join back the conversation with Soofi – all with matter-of-factness.
It is also ironical how this section of society generates intense curiosity and yet behaved as if they do not exist. For example, the shopkeepers below these brothels say pointedly that they have nothing to do with those women; they never talk or wish each other on any occasion. Also, as Hasan Khurshid, the ‘legal’ journalist points out that they were told to never look up while crossing GB Road because it brought shame to be found looking at those women.
The cover page is impressive; and it suitably teases you with the hints of what lay inside the book. The image of cheap cosmetics and ornaments with the blurred image of a woman on the cover page, and a green locked door with jasmine gajra on the handle reeks of a brothel.
Nobody Can Love You More is a remarkable work of non fiction that handles a sensitive subject delicately, while at the same time offers an intimate commentary about the lives of women of kotha number teen sau and their surroundings.
Review Book courtesy: http://www.mysmartprice.com/books/
More reviews from me here: http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/
The author started going to GB Road to teach English to Sabir Bhai’s (a brothel owner) children. The children lost interest in English after a couple of months but Soofi found himself “fascinated by the ordinary aspects of the lives of people who, I think, have been shepherded by circumstances into living extraordinary lives.”
Kotha (brothel) number teen sau houses the malik, Sabir Bhai and five women – Sushma, Fatima, Phalak, Nighat and Sumaira (and Mamta and Roopa for some time). Soofi finds it easy to talk to the elderly Sushma who talks about her experiences, her distant past and her dreaded future, her ‘working hours’; and even cooks for him.
In the stories of these women, are the reflections of several others who are cooped up in the dingy brothels (80 of them) in 42 buildings of GB Road. There are chapters on the lives of sex workers, their children, the brothel owners, pimps, people connected to the sex workers or GB Road like shopkeepers below their brothels, priests and caretakers of a temple and a Sufi shrine, people who knew about the evolution of these brothels over the years, and so on. Each chapter starts with a black and white picture that sums it up.
Although the author is repulsed by the idea of eating food, drinking water or sharing meals there, because of the filth and lack of hygiene; yet he understands that he cannot expect them to open their hearts to him if he does not even agrees to share food. He admits that sometimes it was suffocating and depressing to be part of lives of those people; his own life was in complete contrast to their’s.
The lives of sex workers are surprisingly ordinary. They cook, pray, raise children, fight among themselves, earn money and have ‘working’ hours. They do not behave differently anywhere except at the place of their trade and during their ‘business hours’. They are modest in places of worship, and like any other customer when in a shop.
It is interesting to find out about the evolution of kothas over the years. Earlier rich and royalty used to be their patrons. The nautch girls were associated with courtesy, etiquettes and sophistication. Things took a dramatic turn after independence, and more importantly after Emergency. Over the years, the condition of kothas deteriorated. Now the red-light districts are full of dingy, dirty, tiny cells where women sleep with strangers for a measly sum of Rs 100-200 and a constant fear of losing youth. Their mannerisms are crude and in-your-face.
What stood out for me was how their daily routines were effortlessly entangled with the conversations with Soofi. On one hand Sushma talks about her past, while she cooks dal for him and also wonders how he can have just boiled dal. Also, in the scene where Soofi is conversing with Roopa and Nighat, they behave like any other ‘shopkeeper’. When they get customers, they go with them, return in a couple of minutes, take the money, ask the customers to come back again, and join back the conversation with Soofi – all with matter-of-factness.
It is also ironical how this section of society generates intense curiosity and yet behaved as if they do not exist. For example, the shopkeepers below these brothels say pointedly that they have nothing to do with those women; they never talk or wish each other on any occasion. Also, as Hasan Khurshid, the ‘legal’ journalist points out that they were told to never look up while crossing GB Road because it brought shame to be found looking at those women.
The cover page is impressive; and it suitably teases you with the hints of what lay inside the book. The image of cheap cosmetics and ornaments with the blurred image of a woman on the cover page, and a green locked door with jasmine gajra on the handle reeks of a brothel.
Nobody Can Love You More is a remarkable work of non fiction that handles a sensitive subject delicately, while at the same time offers an intimate commentary about the lives of women of kotha number teen sau and their surroundings.
Review Book courtesy: http://www.mysmartprice.com/books/
More reviews from me here: http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/
May 23, 2013
This is my second non-fiction book that I couldn't put down. I'm glad I've started liking non-fiction better. The author takes you on a journey to some parts of old Delhi like GB road, Chaawri Bazar etc I felt like I was part of it while reading it. For a moment I was so tempted to visit all these places on my own but it wasn't easy for the author to visit these places and at the end he did mention that he wasn't really sure if the women he spoke to told him the truth about their past lives or was it just made up. I'm not sure how many days he spent in that Kotha but he definitely started sounding more like a family member and was concerned about the people living there. I wish he gave some hint about Nighat who left all of a sudden. I didn't know much about Shamshad Begum and the fact that Saira Bano was her granddaughter. Got to know a lot of things about these women and their lives. Gentle, probing, curious and tender as quoted by Khushwant Singh. I remember reading someone's review saying that author was eating off dirty plates to earn their trust. No, I didn't feel he was trying to project something like that otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned the fact that he was hesitant but he did it because he didn't want to hurt them. I found it really genuine. Anyway, to each his own. I loved reading this book and if possible I would definitely read it again. There's a guy named Hasan Bhai who wrote a few lines and gave it the title 'Tawaif Kaun' I loved it. Copying his lines...
Yeh woh aurat hai
Tumhari nazar mein
Jiska jism sirf auratnuma hai.
Jise tumne kabhi aurat maana
Magar darasal
Asli aurat Yahi hai
Ye sabra-na-jabt ki hain putli
Tawaif isko tum kehte ho
Tum Isko besawa keh lo
Ye sab kuch maan leti hain
Palat kar kuch nahin kehti
Yeh shafaf darpan hain
Har chand aaina hain.
Yeh woh aurat hai
Tumhari nazar mein
Jiska jism sirf auratnuma hai.
Jise tumne kabhi aurat maana
Magar darasal
Asli aurat Yahi hai
Ye sabra-na-jabt ki hain putli
Tawaif isko tum kehte ho
Tum Isko besawa keh lo
Ye sab kuch maan leti hain
Palat kar kuch nahin kehti
Yeh shafaf darpan hain
Har chand aaina hain.
June 20, 2021
An encyclopedia on life in GB Road, Delhi's red light district. In trying to make sense of the place, Soofi records the mundanities of daily life here - where the women shop, how they pray, what their children think of their professions etc.
What he does is root the residents of GB Road to the city, the place, and impress upon Delhi's memory their existence, and the stories of their survival. In a city that otherwise tries hard to erase the mention of GB Road from its vocabulary, Nobody Loves You More makes you see the place, but fails to travel into the lives of the women it captures.
What he does is root the residents of GB Road to the city, the place, and impress upon Delhi's memory their existence, and the stories of their survival. In a city that otherwise tries hard to erase the mention of GB Road from its vocabulary, Nobody Loves You More makes you see the place, but fails to travel into the lives of the women it captures.
September 10, 2018
A beautiful description of the life, people and location of the famous Red Light Area of Delhi, the GB Road. Though I felt some portions were repetitive still an interesting read. One should go for it if one wants to read something off-bit!
December 4, 2023
3.5 stars
August 17, 2015
As published on the author, Mayank Austen Soofi's website- here.
Nobody Can Love You More is one of those engaging and overwhelming reads that leave you with so many thoughts but not enough words to put them in. When I picked up this book, my first impression of it was that as a non-fiction book about Delhi’s red light district, it will explore the lives of women who live and work at G.B. Road. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the book is so much more than just that. Soofi has picked up experiences, anecdotes and even passing comments of a myriad set of people whose lives have been built and shaped by this forced peripheral existence in society.
The stories are overwhelmingly insightful and Soofi’s observant nature is reflected in the detailing and depth that he provides to each story and character. What is remarkable is that he is able to weave together these different strands to produce a larger narrative which gives us a picture of not just the specific area that the book concerns itself with but a picture of the city of Delhi itself. He does this in a way that a reader, especially someone like me who has lived all her life in Delhi, experiences a sense of unfamiliarity and alienation. At one point, it was almost as if the city of Delhi was a stranger whom I had never met or talked to before.
You would expect the characters in the book to be different, out of ordinary or “normal”, not the kind of people you meet every day. However, the “normalcy” inherent in the way they live their lives and go on about their work takes you by surprise. On the surface, they might appear as everyday men and women who work, raise their children, visit religious places and so on. Underneath, they are complex, deep and dark characters with stories from the past and present that have molded and continue to mold their lives and their future.
I loved how Soofi introduces you not just to the women but also to the families that live at G.B. Road. In fact, I could not help but fall in love with the characters of Omar and Osman, two of the children who live at Kotha No. 300. These boys tell you how their world lies outside “society”- a place where all “good” and “respected” people live. They also have some very interesting comments about religion- about heaven and hell and the devil. Their words take you back to your own childhood. They make you think how our minds are conditioned from our very childhood. The lives of these children reflect upon the many lives that have been shaped at G.B. Road.
Nobody Can Love You More is not exactly a travel book. It is an experience blended effectively with fiction. The narrative is accompanied by black and white pictures which enhance the realistic representation that Soofi has attempted to achieve. Brilliantly captured, in both written word and visual art, Nobody Can Love You More gives you a glimpse into a part of the city that you have never known. The experience is rich and stays with you much after you have parted with the book.
Nobody Can Love You More is one of those engaging and overwhelming reads that leave you with so many thoughts but not enough words to put them in. When I picked up this book, my first impression of it was that as a non-fiction book about Delhi’s red light district, it will explore the lives of women who live and work at G.B. Road. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the book is so much more than just that. Soofi has picked up experiences, anecdotes and even passing comments of a myriad set of people whose lives have been built and shaped by this forced peripheral existence in society.
The stories are overwhelmingly insightful and Soofi’s observant nature is reflected in the detailing and depth that he provides to each story and character. What is remarkable is that he is able to weave together these different strands to produce a larger narrative which gives us a picture of not just the specific area that the book concerns itself with but a picture of the city of Delhi itself. He does this in a way that a reader, especially someone like me who has lived all her life in Delhi, experiences a sense of unfamiliarity and alienation. At one point, it was almost as if the city of Delhi was a stranger whom I had never met or talked to before.
You would expect the characters in the book to be different, out of ordinary or “normal”, not the kind of people you meet every day. However, the “normalcy” inherent in the way they live their lives and go on about their work takes you by surprise. On the surface, they might appear as everyday men and women who work, raise their children, visit religious places and so on. Underneath, they are complex, deep and dark characters with stories from the past and present that have molded and continue to mold their lives and their future.
I loved how Soofi introduces you not just to the women but also to the families that live at G.B. Road. In fact, I could not help but fall in love with the characters of Omar and Osman, two of the children who live at Kotha No. 300. These boys tell you how their world lies outside “society”- a place where all “good” and “respected” people live. They also have some very interesting comments about religion- about heaven and hell and the devil. Their words take you back to your own childhood. They make you think how our minds are conditioned from our very childhood. The lives of these children reflect upon the many lives that have been shaped at G.B. Road.
Nobody Can Love You More is not exactly a travel book. It is an experience blended effectively with fiction. The narrative is accompanied by black and white pictures which enhance the realistic representation that Soofi has attempted to achieve. Brilliantly captured, in both written word and visual art, Nobody Can Love You More gives you a glimpse into a part of the city that you have never known. The experience is rich and stays with you much after you have parted with the book.
April 27, 2023
This is suddenly and surely a special read for me as it has mentioning of places that I am well acquainted with. Soofi ji has mastered the art of simplicity writing, convincingly impressing the reader's mind. This book has done justice to the lives of people around GB Road. He has effortlessly shown the lives of prostitutes there, the family-like scenario. The author itself is a character who belongs in the lives of GB road's people for a time frame. It's an engaging and raw book.
April 28, 2013
I can't say I'm a fan of the writing style, so far. He's a little too much, "Look at me and the crazy things I am doing! I'm eating off dirty plates to earn their trust!" I only just started last evening and he's already said the same thing 3 ways. It's light reading and it flows ok, but it's not really literature. He spends too much time congratulating himself. Will update when finished.
June 25, 2019
The book gave a nice perspective on the life of a sex worker and approached it from various angles. But the overall writing was superficial and lacked depth. I wish it'd portrayed more about the emotions they felt rather than the facts and events of their lives.
January 20, 2023
Beautifully written, at times perhaps a bit too romanticized though. The book grips you and takes you deep into the corners of GB road. There's quite a bit of historical commentary in there which is expertly woven into the present and is a delight to read.
July 15, 2015
A beautiful ethnography.
February 10, 2016
hauntingly beautiful !
March 18, 2022
Mayank Austen Soofi, when googled, turns out to be a writer, blogger, and photojournalist. I started following him on various social platforms almost four years ago, partly because of his name, which demands immediate attention. His portrait of Delhi in pictures is nothing less than poetry. No wonder his social media page goes by the name of thedelhiwala.
When I came across the book written by "thedelhiwala," I picked it up on pure instinct.
As stated in the story, Mayank was asked to teach English to the kids of Shabir Bhai, the kotha owner of 300 number in the red light district of Delhi, aka G.B road. The kids soon lose interest in learning the language, but Mayank's visit to this forbidden district fuelled his urge to know more about the women working there. This book is a result of three years of research.
I love the way Mayank keeps the narrative casual. He refrains from chronicling lives when he is not talking to Shabir Bhai, Sushma, Nighat, Qsman, or any other resident he is observing. His voice is neutral even while evaluating his own thoughts. He refrains from moral policing. I liked how he focuses on others, too, rather than keeping his vision limited to the sex workers. He talks to their children, eager to know their thoughts on the kind of life, chats with the pimps, interviews the pandit and the shopkeepers. He wants to explore the environment and people around the sex workers while keeping his gaze firmly on 300 number kotha.
The book is a mix of everything, the living and working conditions of the sex workers, their emotions, relationships. He traces the history of the sex workers dating back to the Mughal era so that the reader can compare the profession's downfall that was once a prospering career.
I found the narrative in a few chapters muddled. The book is not arranged chronologically, so it sometimes becomes challenging to trail. Mayank is such a master storyteller through his portraits; however, the pictures used for the book disappointed me. It could be because of the paperback finish quality or something else, but it did not touch my soul.
I did not feel attached to the book or any of the characters in it, it at no point made me cry, but it made me ponder. The compelling writing style of Mayank offered me a part of kotha number 300 residents' lives. I kept thinking about them beyond the reading hours. Despite disagreements, the book shines out for me as it explores skin deep into the oldest and most infamously famous profession.
When I came across the book written by "thedelhiwala," I picked it up on pure instinct.
As stated in the story, Mayank was asked to teach English to the kids of Shabir Bhai, the kotha owner of 300 number in the red light district of Delhi, aka G.B road. The kids soon lose interest in learning the language, but Mayank's visit to this forbidden district fuelled his urge to know more about the women working there. This book is a result of three years of research.
I love the way Mayank keeps the narrative casual. He refrains from chronicling lives when he is not talking to Shabir Bhai, Sushma, Nighat, Qsman, or any other resident he is observing. His voice is neutral even while evaluating his own thoughts. He refrains from moral policing. I liked how he focuses on others, too, rather than keeping his vision limited to the sex workers. He talks to their children, eager to know their thoughts on the kind of life, chats with the pimps, interviews the pandit and the shopkeepers. He wants to explore the environment and people around the sex workers while keeping his gaze firmly on 300 number kotha.
The book is a mix of everything, the living and working conditions of the sex workers, their emotions, relationships. He traces the history of the sex workers dating back to the Mughal era so that the reader can compare the profession's downfall that was once a prospering career.
I found the narrative in a few chapters muddled. The book is not arranged chronologically, so it sometimes becomes challenging to trail. Mayank is such a master storyteller through his portraits; however, the pictures used for the book disappointed me. It could be because of the paperback finish quality or something else, but it did not touch my soul.
I did not feel attached to the book or any of the characters in it, it at no point made me cry, but it made me ponder. The compelling writing style of Mayank offered me a part of kotha number 300 residents' lives. I kept thinking about them beyond the reading hours. Despite disagreements, the book shines out for me as it explores skin deep into the oldest and most infamously famous profession.
April 27, 2022
'Dilli ek shehar nahi, ek mehfil hai', Delhi is not a city but is a gathering. I always remember this line whenever I read books that makes me a lover of the city, a lover who never gets what he desires.
Mayank Austen Soofi, better known as 'The Delhiwalla' captures the city like none other, and NCLYM (the title's initials) takes you with the author as he spends time with the dwellers, takes their picture, have tea in their houses, spends nights with them, and listens to their tragic pasts.
You might not read NCLYM for the delight of reading itself, it's not a book perhaps for everyone. But it'll have a special place for those who love the city passionately. Soofi does the impossible, he lets us into old houses we never would step into, he shows us their small rooms, single beds, broken furniture, and hastily cooked food. We always wonder driving through those old lanes about the people who live in those areas and who had lived there in the past but we seldom have the courage to venture inside and even ask for a glass of water. Soofi takes us deeper into the city and into the lives of those who dwell in those quarters.
The stories of the characters matter more than the characters themselves. Most of the names would be false, the people in the dimly lit lanes never use their real names, nor in the pages or in real life. There isn't a clear end or the beginning of the book, much like the stories and talks of the ladies in the book. Memories are broken, often conjured from scattered pieces, the tales within tales can at times leave you wondering what the book (and characters' lives) is about.
The book has a strange hue of green and red, you don't see it but you can feel it. The question that you might have is, 'is this all true'. Maybe, maybe not, we would never know but it's real, even if untrue, it is very real.
Mayank Austen Soofi, better known as 'The Delhiwalla' captures the city like none other, and NCLYM (the title's initials) takes you with the author as he spends time with the dwellers, takes their picture, have tea in their houses, spends nights with them, and listens to their tragic pasts.
You might not read NCLYM for the delight of reading itself, it's not a book perhaps for everyone. But it'll have a special place for those who love the city passionately. Soofi does the impossible, he lets us into old houses we never would step into, he shows us their small rooms, single beds, broken furniture, and hastily cooked food. We always wonder driving through those old lanes about the people who live in those areas and who had lived there in the past but we seldom have the courage to venture inside and even ask for a glass of water. Soofi takes us deeper into the city and into the lives of those who dwell in those quarters.
The stories of the characters matter more than the characters themselves. Most of the names would be false, the people in the dimly lit lanes never use their real names, nor in the pages or in real life. There isn't a clear end or the beginning of the book, much like the stories and talks of the ladies in the book. Memories are broken, often conjured from scattered pieces, the tales within tales can at times leave you wondering what the book (and characters' lives) is about.
The book has a strange hue of green and red, you don't see it but you can feel it. The question that you might have is, 'is this all true'. Maybe, maybe not, we would never know but it's real, even if untrue, it is very real.
May 8, 2020
I read this book in my ongoing quest to understand more about India. This book is a look at the red light district of Delhi. I had no idea that I had walked so close to it - so much of old Delhi is how this author describes it that one might not even know you are passing through; though this is a specific street in Old Delhi.
The book follows the ladies of on brothel and the family who owns that brothel. Its tragic how the ladies come into this life but what I thought was done well by the author is that he spent roughly 3 years with these people and you get to see how this sense of defeatism sets in and the ladies think this is all they can do and they are not capable of anything else.
There is nothing glamorous about this book, one of the people the author talks to in the book, a fruit vendor says, "these women are dirty, do they even wash after every client?" and that is how I felt about the whole experience the author has, no matter how much cleaning they do or keeping the house clean, it was all so dirty and so tragic. One of the children of the house owner speaks about how you have to get out of there off that street, or you get swallowed by that street.
The book also makes a good case for making prostitution legal in India, so the ladies would have more freedom - they make 100 rupees on each man but more than half of that gets eaten in giving the house owner fees. The ladies have little left for themselves. And than there are the pimps. I just wonder if this seedy business would be less so if it was legal? At least for the women involved.
I highly recommend for those like me, outsiders coming to live and work in Delhi or those interested in the subject. But this is definitely adult matter.
The book follows the ladies of on brothel and the family who owns that brothel. Its tragic how the ladies come into this life but what I thought was done well by the author is that he spent roughly 3 years with these people and you get to see how this sense of defeatism sets in and the ladies think this is all they can do and they are not capable of anything else.
There is nothing glamorous about this book, one of the people the author talks to in the book, a fruit vendor says, "these women are dirty, do they even wash after every client?" and that is how I felt about the whole experience the author has, no matter how much cleaning they do or keeping the house clean, it was all so dirty and so tragic. One of the children of the house owner speaks about how you have to get out of there off that street, or you get swallowed by that street.
The book also makes a good case for making prostitution legal in India, so the ladies would have more freedom - they make 100 rupees on each man but more than half of that gets eaten in giving the house owner fees. The ladies have little left for themselves. And than there are the pimps. I just wonder if this seedy business would be less so if it was legal? At least for the women involved.
I highly recommend for those like me, outsiders coming to live and work in Delhi or those interested in the subject. But this is definitely adult matter.
March 18, 2023
The book that is up for review this time is not everybody's cup of tea. You really need to have a heart of metal to read something like this, which is so profound and so heavy that it can even bring out emotions from a deadpan.
The book that is being talked about here is 'Nobody Can Love You More' and it revolves around the civilization of the red light district in the national capital.
The book has been authored by 'Mayank Austen Soofi', the man who knows Delhi and it's culture and subculture very deeply and has also been running a column by the name of 'DelhiWale' in the Hindustan Times since a very long time.
Soofi takes an account of the infamous GB Road in Delhi and provides us with a first hand experience of things, he captures the downcast reality of the area and interviews various _kotha maliks_, talks about the heritage and the tradition of the area, how the women end up landing here.
He himself moves into one such _kotha_ and further writes about his experience of how each woman of the GB road with each having a distinct and a very dark past, holds so much integrity and shows so much professionalism despite being cursed upon.
Further in the book, Soofi has also discussed the future of these women, the children of GB Road, how they plan to move ahead with their lives, their perception of the outside world and urbanity, their idea of a happy life and how their dreams remain disillusioned.
The work of Soofi has been very observational and with a fine attention to detail and is an indispensable read.
(P.S:- I am also attaching an excerpt of an absolutely beautiful poem from the book)
#KJwrites #BookReviews #Soofi #TheDelhiWalla #NobodyCanLoveYouMore
The book that is being talked about here is 'Nobody Can Love You More' and it revolves around the civilization of the red light district in the national capital.
The book has been authored by 'Mayank Austen Soofi', the man who knows Delhi and it's culture and subculture very deeply and has also been running a column by the name of 'DelhiWale' in the Hindustan Times since a very long time.
Soofi takes an account of the infamous GB Road in Delhi and provides us with a first hand experience of things, he captures the downcast reality of the area and interviews various _kotha maliks_, talks about the heritage and the tradition of the area, how the women end up landing here.
He himself moves into one such _kotha_ and further writes about his experience of how each woman of the GB road with each having a distinct and a very dark past, holds so much integrity and shows so much professionalism despite being cursed upon.
Further in the book, Soofi has also discussed the future of these women, the children of GB Road, how they plan to move ahead with their lives, their perception of the outside world and urbanity, their idea of a happy life and how their dreams remain disillusioned.
The work of Soofi has been very observational and with a fine attention to detail and is an indispensable read.
(P.S:- I am also attaching an excerpt of an absolutely beautiful poem from the book)
#KJwrites #BookReviews #Soofi #TheDelhiWalla #NobodyCanLoveYouMore
August 22, 2020
Finished reading “Nobody Can Love You More” by Mayank Austen Soofi. I first heard of Soofi from a friend who showed me the breathtaking pictures Soofi clicks on the streets of Delhi. Honestly speaking, I fell in love with his pictures - moreso because of the thought provoking (and at times radical) caption he writes with every picture. Find it hard to believe? Go check out his Instagram page @thedelhiwalla.
Audacious as Soofi seems to be, he chose a bold & unconventional subject to write about. In this book he painstakingly writes about the everyday life in Delhi’s red light district - GB Road (I didn’t know it was named after a British commissioner Garstin Bastion).
Soofi’s narrative is simple and the plot of this book isn’t a figment of his imagination. He spent a great deal of time (read three years) visiting and being friends with the inhabitants of Kotha No. 300 - be it the courtesans, their children, the kotha maalik and the pimps that flock the streets. The book is interlaced with (seemingly ordinary) photographs, and each one has its own story to tell.
By following the daily lives of the denizens of one kotha, Soofi paints an intimate portrait of women for whom sex is work - a way to make a living (and not a profession of choice). He gives his readers a sense of GB road without stripping bare the lives of its people.
P.S. I’m left wondering as to how the story justifies the title of the book! Is it a pun - indicating that a word like ‘Love’ finds no place in a profession as this?
Audacious as Soofi seems to be, he chose a bold & unconventional subject to write about. In this book he painstakingly writes about the everyday life in Delhi’s red light district - GB Road (I didn’t know it was named after a British commissioner Garstin Bastion).
Soofi’s narrative is simple and the plot of this book isn’t a figment of his imagination. He spent a great deal of time (read three years) visiting and being friends with the inhabitants of Kotha No. 300 - be it the courtesans, their children, the kotha maalik and the pimps that flock the streets. The book is interlaced with (seemingly ordinary) photographs, and each one has its own story to tell.
By following the daily lives of the denizens of one kotha, Soofi paints an intimate portrait of women for whom sex is work - a way to make a living (and not a profession of choice). He gives his readers a sense of GB road without stripping bare the lives of its people.
P.S. I’m left wondering as to how the story justifies the title of the book! Is it a pun - indicating that a word like ‘Love’ finds no place in a profession as this?
July 14, 2020
I took the book out of the sheer interest to know what brings the people in the district there. However, the book is more of a literal documentary about the life there.. the makeup used..the food..the professional hierarchy with less hush hush background stories.
Well, in a way, the book truly lives up to its title..'Life in Delhi's Red light'. It tells you all about it, very elaborately , with a slight glimpse into the stories of one of the prostitutes who has a normal life outside thi world with a family to whom she visits for 6 months each year. They believe that she works in a software company in Delhi and she lives with a changes name here. She does this for money and would like to return completely to the normal world someday. However, don't be misleaded in anyway that the book offers more of this.
Or maybe the author hasn't told us everything.
Anyways, Kudos to the writer for living this wonderful experience to actually pen it down in a book.
Well, in a way, the book truly lives up to its title..'Life in Delhi's Red light'. It tells you all about it, very elaborately , with a slight glimpse into the stories of one of the prostitutes who has a normal life outside thi world with a family to whom she visits for 6 months each year. They believe that she works in a software company in Delhi and she lives with a changes name here. She does this for money and would like to return completely to the normal world someday. However, don't be misleaded in anyway that the book offers more of this.
Or maybe the author hasn't told us everything.
Anyways, Kudos to the writer for living this wonderful experience to actually pen it down in a book.
September 10, 2024
I have only admired and diligently followed soofi's portrayal of the common delhi waales over his blog. Which lead to me picking up thus book at Fakir Chand's and it incidentally was even signed.
The concept of a prostitute is enormously misfigured by the society. Nonetheless outside of their profession, each has their own identity which Soofi makes not just the reader but even the subject realise through his subtle and direct questioning.
The women from the book, despite every societal dogma are participating in a job which is today beyond recognizable of what it stood for in the grand days of Delhi. They aspire to get respect and recognition in/from the society irrespective of if anyone or their own selves love them. This for me was my interpretation of the title. In the frugal times that we live in, getting loved just enough is also a privilege in itself. The title is justified.
The beautiful black and white imagery is a cherry on top.
The concept of a prostitute is enormously misfigured by the society. Nonetheless outside of their profession, each has their own identity which Soofi makes not just the reader but even the subject realise through his subtle and direct questioning.
The women from the book, despite every societal dogma are participating in a job which is today beyond recognizable of what it stood for in the grand days of Delhi. They aspire to get respect and recognition in/from the society irrespective of if anyone or their own selves love them. This for me was my interpretation of the title. In the frugal times that we live in, getting loved just enough is also a privilege in itself. The title is justified.
The beautiful black and white imagery is a cherry on top.
June 3, 2020
A beautifully written, rare book that focuses on understanding the "Who" rather than the "What." It is very hard to get anyone -- let alone people in this line of work -- to open up about their lives. It may be even harder to portray and write about them. Soofi does both with empathy, deftness, and awareness. He even questions his own motives for writing the book, which I appreciated.
This is an important book that will soften our hardened hearts against "the rest of the world," and help us want to understand other humans. I love the tone and style of Soofi's writing: subtle, but with depth and conviction. Definitely a 5/5 book for me!
This is an important book that will soften our hardened hearts against "the rest of the world," and help us want to understand other humans. I love the tone and style of Soofi's writing: subtle, but with depth and conviction. Definitely a 5/5 book for me!
August 26, 2017
Surreal travels into the dark, vivid and a rather oblivious society of scars, taboos, shame, lust, wistfulness, petulance, mystery and the unforgettable.
While the fireflies make love in the forest, the old mausoleum hums songs of the past amidst smog and polluted city verses. The skin turns bitter with touch anonymous - somewhere in the dark dingy corners of the forbidden, I dream of noir fairies crying joy in pain, pleasure and grimace.
Pasted upon the darkness of my shut eyelids, this book is illumination dressed in burning tears.
While the fireflies make love in the forest, the old mausoleum hums songs of the past amidst smog and polluted city verses. The skin turns bitter with touch anonymous - somewhere in the dark dingy corners of the forbidden, I dream of noir fairies crying joy in pain, pleasure and grimace.
Pasted upon the darkness of my shut eyelids, this book is illumination dressed in burning tears.
January 24, 2018
There is no one word that describes this book perfectly for me. M.A.Soofi has delved into the depths of what it is like to live as a sex worker in Delhi's most talked about yet most hushed area. Unlike most portrayals of the area which mostly act as guide books, this book primarily focuses on the lives of its residents and where they stand in society, and how the world around them perceives (or ignores) their existence. He has painted a beautiful picture of how in even the most despised place, life flourishes in a heartbreakingly hopeful way.
September 1, 2020
Soofi's ethnographic and deeply personal experience of GB Road is an account that he narrates with utmost sensitivity. His characters are real, living people residing in Delhi's GB Roar area (a few nearby as well), whose lives have often been stereotyped and way too tabooed. His acceptance of being an outsider and yet feeling welcome helps you as you read and enter the space yourself. Wish we could have more such accounts to read.
July 2, 2021
Look, i like the stories. I really do. I also think that he puts it in a very nice way. 100 marks for that but bich bich mei iske privileged notes aate hai na. Bhai han pata hai hume apne bapuji ke paas paise hai, don't be so awestruck with realities of world. Honestly i wasn't even shocked by things, to which he reacted like that. Maybe because i lived like that 😂 hey, not everyone has different places to wash utensils and brush their teeth. Anyways, padhlo. Acchi hai.
January 31, 2020
Some books do not need star ratings because they are way beyond that level. Mayank’s Nobody can love you more is such book.
Unabashedly the book peeks inside the infamous GB road of Delhi which is mostly not talked about. The life or fiction (?) of Delhi’s red light district, penned by our very own ‘Soofi’ is a chronicle worth reading.
You smell a bit of dilli here :)
Unabashedly the book peeks inside the infamous GB road of Delhi which is mostly not talked about. The life or fiction (?) of Delhi’s red light district, penned by our very own ‘Soofi’ is a chronicle worth reading.
You smell a bit of dilli here :)
January 3, 2022
The ordinariness of their lives and the tenderness with which it has all been chronicled made this a gripping read. How gently and poetically it treats the concepts of morality and privacy. The magic of approachable and sensitive writing!
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