Thursday, December 31, 2015

A Window on the Gates of Heaven

By Nihal D Amerasekera  

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.”
Anais Nin

In the 20th Century Paris was the centre of the bohemian G- spots in the world.
As the world ushers in the new year it has said goodbye to the most famous brothel keeper of  the last century. High society will mourn its best “Madame” who has served Royalty, Presidents, Prime Ministers and Ambassadors.  The  great and the good enjoyed her services provided with such vivacity, vigor and verve. She did everything possible to keep the customer satisfied but it came at a price. The service was discreet. Her list of clients had always remained a closely guarded secret.  She knew her regular runners and riders like the palm of her hand. Madame’s worn out diaries said it all.

Sex is an intoxicating desire which has mesmerized humans since the beginning of time.  The so called “houses of ill-repute” or bordellos have been a feature of towns and cities since Biblical times. Nowadays such houses are well regulated and suitably controlled. Those that are not remain a social disgrace and a danger to the clients and providers. They are abhorrent to the many who want the girls to be adequately protected from exploitation.

The Madame Duchenne chose her house of good repute with great care. The mansion with beautifully manicured lawns stood in the  shadow of the Eiffel tower just off the Boulevard San Michel in the plush quarter of  Paris. The 20th Century décor in the waiting room was elegant. Canned classical music was played to calm the nerves.  A gentle sweet perfume wafted across the rooms into the foyer. Despite this some clients were seen pacing the corridors, patting their groins, waiting their turn.

The Madame chose her girls carefully. They had to be taller than 5ft9 to be able to fend off unreasonable requests single handed. There was a rigorous process of recruitment for the girls who had to strip naked. She complained looks can be deceptive. Some girls who were slim and pretty with the clothes on were a catastrophe when naked. Some successful candidates were advised to get plastic surgery for improvements to the nose, chin or the teeth.  Of course the girls had to pay for the surgery!!  When God doesn’t get it right the surgeon can.  The girls were trained in self defence, fake orgasm and how to navigate between sex, romance and everything else in between. It is considered an honour to be one of her girls and certainly a slur it was not. They were chatty, cheerful and convivial.  It is considered the finest sex operation in the history of mankind.

There was little competition for this fastidious convent educated girl who catered for the top end of the market. She introduced a telephone booking service and online credit card payments.  Her website merely showed the mythical gateway to heaven and how to book the journey. Members of the ruling political establishment and religious dignitaries were given a special discount. The Madame , who is a storehouse of information, said some lacked the staying power and it all finished even before they entered the room.  Some from the dark continent hit the sweet spot often enough to wild cheers. Those sexually effervescent clients from the Middle East who wanted that little bit extra paid a higher premium. There were first timers who tipped the girls generously to clear their conscience. One girl needed a posterior fornix repair after an “all nighter”, a well known occupational hazard. Radiologists say such work causes free gas to appear under the diaphragm on an erect abdominal X ray. Injuries that occur on the job were covered by insurance.

There were bouncers to protect her and the girls. Money flowed in as did the “tips” for those added extras. The rooms were specially designed and sound proofed to cut out the “oohs and the ahs”  and also the puffing and grunting.

As the “house” looks for a new Madame business is booming. Whatever the state of the economy and the stock markets, human desires take precedence over everything else. Many will salute the Madames of this world for the huge service they provide. As for Madame Duchenne let’s hope she found the Gates of Heaven which she so readily showed her clients for over half a century.

I write this piece tongue in cheek!!  It is not a glorification of the oldest profession and the bordellos but an acknowledgement of its survival. As long as human frailties and desires exist trade will flourish. It is my wish such encounters are between consenting adults and equal partners.

I wish the readers of our Blog a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. I hope my humble literary foreplay is sufficient to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh in the comfort of your own home.  Some may care to spare a thought for Madame Duchenne’s legacy in Boulevard San Michel.


4 comments:

  1. What a fascinating story, and choice, for heralding the New Year! As you say ND, sexual desire is one of the strongest and has evolutionary importance for continuation of our species but like many desires, for the frequent indulger, it is more a case of relief from yearning than the pleasure from the indulgence itself (which undoubtedly does elevate levels of pleasurable sensations). When a really hungry man resolves his dissatisfaction by eating, the first joy is the joy of relief from yearning for food, followed by the joy of taste and whether it is plain bread or caviar, that initial taste is deliriously and deliciously satisfying. I am sure Madame exploited this to some extent in that not all her girls needed to be desirably beautiful. So long as they looked pleasant and had the basic equipment, the men "patting their groins" could be and would be satisfied and of course as they get "hungry" again, they will return to relieve their yearning. The futility of indulging in material pleasures as a way of achieving happiness was of course expounded by a famous Teacher who was born in India more than 2500 years ago.

    May I also wish all our colleagues and Blog watchers (and the odd commentator) a very peaceful and happy New Year and remind myself and share with you, that this is more likely to be achieved if we have simple expectations and continue to gain pleasure from activities which do not rely on loads of money or other material gain. Enjoy the beauty of the skies, the chirping of birds, the laughter of children, the glory of the sun shining on our beautiful Earth, the pleasure of giving and the friendship and support of people who care for you.


    Now that is enough Mahendra..... no more "lectures"!

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  2. Mahen
    Thank you for the generous comment. Enjoy the beauty of nature and in between enjoy the other pleasures of the world remembering nothing lasts forever!! I reach for the wisdom of Omar Khayyam as I often do

    “Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
    Before we too into the Dust descend;
    Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie
    Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and--sans End!

    Alike for those who for To-day prepare,
    And those that after some To-morrow stare,
    A Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries
    "Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There.”

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