My first encounter as a male sex worker rewrote my destiny. It was with a rich, middle-aged woman from Peddar Road who wanted “special treatment”. Until then, I only used to give massages to men at Girgaum chowpatty.
She wanted sex. And I obliged. She liked the experience. In my profession, it helps that I am young (27 years old) and have a tough, muscular body.
The rich woman frequently demanded my services after that. Before I even realised it, I was transformed from a masseur to a gigolo.
That’s not why I had left my hometown in Gujarat for. Seven years ago, when I first came to Mumbai, I started as a help at a wayside tea stall in Girgaum. Working at the tea stall wasn’t something I liked, but I did it for the money.
One day, a middle-aged man — Satyapal — who often frequented the tea stall made a good offer as a maalishwala (masseur). At Chowpatty, I started giving massages to men. I used to earn Rs200 per client. At times, the men who came along used to ask me for a gulaabi maalish (code for a homsexual encounter).
It was one such homosexual who put me in touch with the Peddar Road woman. He used to sleep with her but was not really inclined. That proved to be a turning point for me.
From earning barely nothing at the tea stall to Rs200 a massage at Chowpatty, I’ve come a long way. Today, as a gigolo, I make good money as I cater essentially to high-profile women.
Now, I live in the suburbs – I’ve rented a house in Four Bungalows, Andheri (West) and live by myself. I shifted because
my first woman client — the woman from Peddar Road — moved to Andheri (West). Here, I’ve come into contact with more clients.
Today, I’m quite in demand. I earn about Rs5,000 to Rs6,000 a day. There are many women who seek my services. All are from affluent families but have problems with their husbands or their sex lives.
To advertise my services, I got my cellphone number printed on pamphlets that are tacked up on tree trunks around Lokhandwala Complex. I get flooded with calls from women. In fact, others in this vicinity go about it in a similar way.
Finding a private space for massages is, indeed, a problem. Women don’t like to do it their homes; obviously they’d feel inhibited there. So, I used to rent a hotel room for them or sometimes ask trustworthy people to let out a room in their house to do business.
I have set a rule for myself — I do not cater to more than two clients a day. The demand is much more but I turn clients away. After all, the quality of my work and customers’ satisfaction are of utmost importance.
Usually, the duration of my job is an hour. I respect the woman who come to me and give her the pleasure that she wants. Women tell me that they find me physically strong and attractive. This, they tell me, differentiates me from their husbands.
Rarely, when I confide in people about the work I do, some admit that they find it disgusting and morally and socially unacceptable for women to indulge in such acts. I do not agree with that at all.
If men can go around with prostitutes, why should anyone have a problem if women hire a man — who is an object of desire for them — and do similar things?
After all, women too have physical needs. Yes, this may not be socially acceptable and this is why they can’t be as open about it as men. Thus, they do such things clandestinely.
There are other masseurs like me in the city who are in good demand. I do not feel it’s a crime on the part of women at all. And then, I view it practically — for me, it’s about earning money while for my women clients, it’s about satisfying their sexual appetite.
(As told to Soumitra Ghosh)
