Who would've thought that saris, traditional Indian female garments, could be compared to the "exoticness" of leather miniskirts?

But, in a somewhat dated article published by IndiaDaily, apparently, Toronto girls of Indian descent are riding on the boom of Bollywood films and "busy making big bucks with sari stripping."

Reporter Tareena Raina said the girls wear saris to attract dudes and strip off the layers of clothing behind hotel doors. She also claimed this is also catching the eyes and ears of politicians, Bollywood directors, actors and producers, anxious to board a plane to Pearson to check out "this massive display of Indian sex."

So, I was curious: does this apply today? We've seen hordes of fans line up for Guru at last January's Elgin Theatre just to get a glimpse of actors Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, dubbed by Western media as India's "Bollywood Brangelina." So there's no question Bollywood in Toronto is still a huge market.

But when I asked around about sari stripping, no one really knew what the hell I was talking about.

"I thought it might be a new class someone was teaching," said Carlyle Jansen of Good for Her. "It doesn't surprise me that men would want to watch women strip in saris."

A quick keyword search at NOW's adult classifieds section reveals 50 matches for "Bollywood," but unfortunately, I didn't have the $100 to spare a half hour's time of an Indian escort. Not all the girls in the ad photos wore saris, either. But there were definitely some.

Rakesh Tiweri, the chief editor of Brampton-based The Hindi Times said he's heard of sari stripping in passing and wonders if it has anything to with the Indian government unanimously banning dancing in their bars three years ago and women immigrating to North America for more lenient "dancing" laws and bigger bucks.

"The girls used to dance over there and they came from poor families," Tiweri told BlogTO. "They did it for the money and then this whole practice was banned. If people get influenced by Bollywood culture, they might be interested in [sari stripping], too."

Sex Professionals of Canada's executive director Valerie Scott said her clients have never brought up the fetish of saris when it comes to stripping, but as long as no one's getting hurt, she's all for it.

"There are women coming from all over North America and we welcome them," Scott said. "If women are dancing in saris in hotel rooms and they're in the business willingly, then, great. As long as it doesn't involve theft and violence."

According to Sepiamunity.com, some United States clubs are advertising sari stripping, as well.

"Over the weekend, I ran into a friend with a crazy story. He told me that he had recently visited a city in the U.S. South on business. While there he was taken to a nightclub which had women in saris dancing provocatively. 'People were throwing dollar bills at them,' he told me. That's crazy I thought. I am pretty familiar with said city and I had never heard of such an unusual establishment. Apparently, even families sometimes go there. I hate to be so cryptic but identities must be protected especially given the type of business."

Desi Nashaa, a local blogger, wrote this after she saw the post on IndiaDaily:

"But what's really unfortunate is, most of these Bollywood sluts are so keen to go topless and bare all, all for what? Yeah, OK, money, and they are the subject of every desi guy's wet dreams, yes."

"Yes, land of Kama Sutra should get jiggy with being comfortable with the idea of sex. BUT, sex is different than slut factor. Heck, Bollywood should just be renamed Pornywood. Open-in-your-face-porn. I don't blame the guys for this, of course. Sure, the men directors want all this, and the audience want this, but ultimately, who has the upper control? The slutty women in Bollywood. They're the worst for giving in."

So, anyone know what the deal is here? I suspect there is such a thing as "sari stripping" going on, but it's probably not as big a deal as IndiaDaily hypes it up to be. (I also wonder if It always boils down to personal preference. From first glance, sure, there's 50 ads up in the back of NOW, but there's probably an equal amount devoted to Asian, white, Latino, etc.)

If anyone has any more info on sari stripping in T.O., give us a shout.

Photo from: Rani-Mukharji.com.