Sacred filth offers India's oldest trade brief respect

Every year in India's megacity Kolkata, the world's oldest trade gets fleeting respect from an ancient custom when soil outside brothels is considered sacred and collected for Hindu rituals.

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Those working in the eastern port city's ever-busy red light district say the coveted earth is a bitter reflection of society's discriminatory attitudes desired when needed, downtrodden filth when not.

The doorstep dirt is seen as holy by Hindu devotees, who believe it is imbued with special qualities because it is where men leave behind all that is good before entering for sex.