An epic tale of a Mumbai bar dancer

Is a woman's body her own? How far does her freedom extend? What can she do when social traditions, laws of the land and above all, prejudices of individuals bind her down; make her a slave to her own identity and turn her into a commodity to be bought and sold? How can she turn back the tidal wave of social events set loose by the origins and consequences of various social traditions? These and other questions rise in the mind of the reader who navigates the pages of Without Prejudice: Epic Tale of a Mumbai Bar Dancer and follows the life of Pallavi, through her eyes and the eyes of the two men who play pivotal roles in her odyssey – Rajkumar and Roy, characters the author, Devasis, has lovingly sketched, as he takes the reader through a journey in time.

Without Prejudice: Epic Tale of a Mumbai Bar Dancer, published by Niyogi Books was officially launched at Title Waves, Bandra West, Mumbai.

A novel on the life sketch of a fictional Mumbai bar dancer, the book delves deep into the roots of their evolution as dancers and attempts to answer how the sudden decision of closure of the dance bars ran the danger of depriving a section of the populace of a dignified (albeit not being seen so by some sections of society) way of earning their living.

The book was launched in the presence of Alyque Padamsee (theatre personality and advertising professional), Kiran Khalap (brand consultant, author and advertising professional) and Varsha Kale (women leader and activist).

Alyque Padamsee noted that the book throws light on the dance bars which the society perceives as vulgar, dirty and cheap, though it is not and also that it is right time for the society to break such shackles of prejudice against a few.

Activist Varsha Kale added that it is the right of women to earn her livelihood if it necessarily means to flaunt her body. Ultimately it is the person's choices which matters rather than the society dictating terms.

Kiran Khalap and author, Devasis discussed about the book in detail and gave a structure to the whole discussion about the dance-bar industry.

Trisha De Niyogi, the publisher, said "Without Prejudice is the fine line between fiction and nonfiction. What starts out as a story of a young girl beautifully unwraps and rather blossoms into a story of the bigger scheme of things, a much bigger cause: Women Empowerment."