Men line up for lively night shows that light up India’s hinterlands, where young women perform under the piercing male gaze.

Behind the glitter lies an uncomfortable truth.

DW's Akanksha Saxena visited a show at Bihar's Sonepur Mela, India’s largest rural cattle fair to find out why the arkestra industry thrives, and what it costs the women who perform.

The performers are often driven by extreme poverty, and many are pulled into this trade through trafficking.

Many minors are also trapped and exploited in this trade.

Women who perform here do so at great personal risk.