Oscar ray for red light kids

Zana aunty called to say we have won another prize,’’ said a beaming Puja, holding a camera in one hand and a slice of a cake in t...

Zana aunty called to say we have won another prize,’’ said a beaming Puja, holding a camera in one hand and a slice of a cake in the other. In a corner of this brothel at Sonagachi in Kolkata, it’s time to celebrate.

A sex worker’s daughter, Puja, is among those whom British photographer Zana Briski had taught how to shoot with a camera and then worked with the team to film Born into Brothels, based on life in this red light area. The film won an Oscar yesterday in the short documentary section.

‘‘Zana aunty asked me on the cellphone if we are happy at getting the award. I said yes. And we broke into a song,’’ said Puja, who lives here with her mother and grandmother.

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Sitting in the small kothi that has been her home for 40 years, Puja’s mother Rakhi admits the significance of the award is lost on her. ‘‘If Zana can take my daughter out of this life that will be her best award,’’ says Rakhi. Like Puja, Rakhi was also born in this brothel. But Puja, Rakhi adds, has studied up to class VII. And now, she is said to be attending a computer course.

‘‘Zana aunty was here about a month ago and had told us we might win this award. It has come true,’’ says Avijit.

Before leaving Kolkata, Zana had sponsored a couple of children in Savera Foundation — a voluntary organisation on the outskirts of Kolkata. Today, a couple of volunteers like Lola Peris, who had just arrived from Spain, escorted several such children from the Savera Foundation home to Sonagachi to join the celebration.

Zana, meanwhile, opened her speech at the award ceremony yesterday, thanking the kids with whom she and Kauffman had worked. ‘‘We thank the kids. They are watching in Kolkata,’’ she said.