Author: Saroj Mahata
DOI Link :: https://doi-ds.org/doilink/03.2024-49535645/BIJMRD/2024/V2/I1/A16
Abstract :- After taking over the rule of Bengal by the British, along with the change of new commercial and administrative relations, the courtesies of Bengal changed like the pre- Colonial socio- economic structure. The colonial administration made special arrangements to employ Indian courtesans for European and Indian soldiers. On the other hand, in this socio- economic and administrative system, courtesans also collect new types of clients or customers. In the practical aspects of the market economy, prostitution deviates from sexual impulses and transforms into a different positional status, where people rent themselves or their bodies, or even sell their skills on the market as day Laborers. But in the case of harlots ,he rents out his genitalia and its appendage, Indicating a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. Procreation has a moral value in society and women’s fertility is recognized as sacred, which is the exclusive domain of husbands in patriarchal societies. Women who sell their bodies and children forever as slaves and becomes an instrument of production(Colloquially called Putrarthe Kriyate Varyya), unlike those who rent out their bodies without the obligation to produce children, what she produces over time in return for her labor is a purchasable grotesque fantasy to her male buyer. Traditional artisans or factory workers sell their skills and produce according to market demand. As a result, the labourer does not own the object of his labour. Prostitutes are forced to sell their spontaneous sexual impulses to meet market demand and he cannot face his laborious product, which remains mysterious to him. In this article, how the courtesan house’s of colonial Bengal become a means of developing the caste identity of the so- called elites and means of mental peace and entertainment.
Keywords: Courtesans, Courtesan House, organization, Religion, Caste and Class, Babu Culture.