The Stripper Who Didn146;t8230;

We were a motley crew of 30 people who got together at his swanky pad in Defence Colony, cosy, candlelit, and laden with paintings by the country8217;s most prolific artists. There was a power broker, advertising professionals, some journalists, all feverishly swilling wine in anticipation of the hot Mr Jalandhar who was going to floor us with his routine. 8220;How much do you think he8217;ll take off?8221; questioned a 26-year-old editor with a publishing house, who crashed the party after hearing about what was in store. Another professional was curious about whether he gets enough business. 8220;Do the rates go up if the party is larger?8221; he asked. The host refused to divulge anything, only plying us with alcohol. The show would begin only once we were smashed, he said.

Post 11 pm, when most of the party was tottering and the mood was mellow, the music went up several notches. Suddenly, a black leather jacket clad boy with blond hair and light eyes, leapt into the room. He thrust his hips at guests who were reclining on low sofas. After shaking his shapely behind for a minute, he moved on to the next sofa where he tossed off his jacket with a flourish. He then just as quickly leapt out of the room.

8220;Is this it?8221; asked our incredulous host when the stripper didn8217;t appear for 10 minutes. 8220;I paid 5,000 bucks for this?8221; By now, most of us were stone cold sober and curious about the vanishing stripper. A guest decided to go check on him. She came back to fix him a stiff drink. 8220;He8217;s got cold feet,8221; she informed us, 8220;It8217;s his first time.8221; After the stripper had quickly downed two vodkas, my friend attempted to cajole him into completing his routine. He refused. Since he turned out to be a 19-year-old college kid, we softhearted women insisted he chill, have a drink, dinner and just chat. 8220;I want to be a model,8221; he told me. Good looking and well built, I could easily see him on the ramp. The power broker spoke to him in chaste Punjabi after hearing his ancestors were from Amritsar. 8220;I hope to migrate to America next year,8221; smiled the stripper, now a little more at ease. His sister lives there, his brother works at a McDonalds in Delhi and he got this particular assignment from a friend who occasionally participates in gay parties. 8220;I8217;m straight. I like girls,8221; he insisted, pointedly. His family has no idea about this side profession he8217;s come close to taking up. 8220;It8217;s only for the money,8221; he said hesitantly, 8220;Till I get a break in modeling.8221;

I fixed up with the stripper to meet him in Barista the next day. When a spa called Zieta, aimed at women had launched in Delhi last year, designer Rohit Bal had hired male models to showcase an underwear collection. Women of all age groups in the audience went berserk over the young studs gyrating on the ramp. It8217;s common among trendy women to hire a stripper for a hen night before getting married. So there clearly is a growing market for stripper services. I asked Mr Jalandhar about his friends8217; experiences. 8220;The women come on strong,8221; he told me. 8220;Sometimes they want much more.8221;

Men have a different take on it. 8220;These guys are lucky,8221; said one, 8220;They get to see women behave like men.8221; Our stripper, though, is determined to be a model. 8220;I8217;ve been told I8217;ll have to sleep around for assignments,8221; he tells me. I tell him it8217;s quite professional, really, for the most part. He digests my words, almost childlike. I tell him the competition is fierce. 8220;I can always come back and dance if I don8217;t make it,8221; he says. True.

Meanwhile, my strip party host from the other night told me 8220;I think we8217;ve been had8221;. He adds: 8220;I have some gay friends who say this guy8217;s performed for them plenty of times.8221; He goes on to inform me the stripper knocked back seven large vodkas that night. The doe-eyed boy with his helpless act was just a crook looking to make a quick buck. Maybe he is a shrewd con artist, doing what he has to, to survive. We8217;ll never know.