On the other hand, she never thought of herself as a callgirl or prostitute. She’d always thought of ‘hookers’ walking street corners in shabby, slutty clothes. But Swastika had talked her about evening gowns, galas, champagnes, and five-star hotels. So maybe being an ‘escort’ wasn’t the same as being a roadside ‘Beshya’ ( Prostitute ) exactly in which the public were acquainted with.
Gargi stewed on this subject for weeks. And in the end, one night when she was feeling very horny and her husband was out of town, as usual, she called her friend.
“Swastika, this is Gargi,” she said.
“Hi, Gargi, let me go to the other room away from the TV…” Swastika put her friend on hold and then moved to another room…..a quiet part of the house. “Hey, what’s going on?” she said.
Gargi almost lost her courage, but she heard herself whisper, “I want to talk with you about…ah…that job opportunity we discussed a few days ago at the studio.”
“Well, it’s about time,” Swastika giggled, “I wondered if you were ever going to make the call.”
That was kind of embarrassing. But Gargi forged ahead. “I’ve been thinking about the money, and the kind of clientele you described, and maybe…I’m thinking about exploring the idea a little further.”
There, that didn’t sound so bad Swastika thought as she replied, “I’m sure you won’t regret it, Gargidi. Just let me have Sujit call you. He’s the manager of our great society, and a very sweet and understanding guy. I know you’ll like him and you’ll like what he has to say. I certainly did, and I’ve never regretted it.”
The two Bengalee celebrities then chatted for a while longer about other things, and then hung up. Gargi was almost shaking with fear….excitement…..dread…..horniness and worry. She had a ‘falling’ feeling in her tummy that was at the same time horrible and thrilling. She was in a mess when the phone rang not five minutes later.
“Hello?”
“Is this Gargi Roychowdhury?” A man’s voice.
“Yes,” Gargi said cautiously.
“This is Sujit Chowdhury, I’m an assistant of your friend Swastika Mukherjee. We work for the same society, and I am the manager of that Noble ( ! ) society.”
“I see.” She was still cautious.
“Well, uh, Swastika Madam suggested I give you a call and we could discuss things and maybe I could answer some conflicting questions for you.” He had a nice voice and seemed so pleasant.
“Oh, yes, well, uh, perhaps you could tell me about your society in which you are working these days…”
“Certainly we are always looking for new actresses…mainly Bengalee film-heroines, who have that certain criteria. Swastika Madam described you as just that kind of wonderful Lady our society require. We only engage those film-celebrities with life experience, grace, beauty, charms…..all the things that Swastika Madam said you possess in abundance.”
My God! he was so smooth about his speech….Gargi thought.
“It’s OK, thanks for the compliments,” Gargi said, blushing alone in her own bedroom.
He paused a moment and let out a breath, “May I speak something frankly about our Society, Gargi Madam?” he asked….so polite.