10 gifts from Mumbai's LGBT community
Last year's reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code effectively decriminalized homosexuality in India -- a momentous reversal of 149-year-old British colonial legislation.
A veritable explosion of more visible queer expression followed, with Mumbai quickly emerging as the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) capital of India. Shops, books, talks, films, blogs and personalities together created an exciting network of news.
Now that we're cruising the last leg of 2010 here's a list of 10 important voices coming out of Mumbai's LGBT community, the majority of them in very recent years.
1. Parmesh Shahani
TEDx organizer, writer and energetic activist Parmesh Shahani is one of the most well-known faces of the gay community in Mumbai.
His book "Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)Longing in Contemporary India" chronicles gayness in Mumbai beyond sexuality, through topics including technology, society, modernity, urban studies and cinema.
2. Hostel Room 131
R. Raja Rao, whose 2003 debut novel "The Boyfriend" earned its place as India's first 'gay book,' returns after seven years with an uplifting and sensitive story in his second book "Hostel Room 131."
Reflecting the emerging openness of the Indian LGBT landscape, "Hostel Room 131" has a somewhat happy ending, a positive change from tales coming out of the 1970s and 1980s.
3. Laxmi Tripathi
Outspoken transgender activist Laxmi Tripathi has spoken at the United Nations, at conferences around the world, and recently at a TEDx talk in Mumbai.
She's done a great deal to denounce discrimination against the transgender community, which has been enjoying significant social and legal gains in recent times: electoral rolls and voter ID cards now contain the categories 'male,' 'female' and 'other,' to include the large transgender population.
4. Queer Ink Book Fair
Queer Ink is the first online queer bookstore in the country, and this October organized the Queer Ink Book Fair, an on-ground event that was also the first of its kind in India.
Offering over 400 titles spanning a wide range of LGBT issues and interests, the three-day fair included author interactions and open mic nights, and aspires to be a regular event.
5. Azaad Bazaar
Azaad Bazaar, India’s first LGBT pride store, offers LGBT-centric clothing, accessories and home décor. It's great to be able to walk into the shop and pick up a rainbow Azaad T-shirt with the word printed in Hindi, Gujarati, English, Bengali, Tamil and Urdu.
"AzBaz" also hosts LGBT-centric events, serving as a rooted physical gathering space for the LGBT community in Mumbai.
6. Kashish: the Mumbai international Queer Film Festival (MIQFF)
This past April saw the first instalment of Kashish, the Mumbai International Queer Film Festival (MIQFF). Likely India’s biggest queer film festival yet, Kashish showcased Indian and international films highlighting alternative sexuality, and also intends to be a regular event in the city.
Festival co-director Sridhar Rangayan is also one of the earliest publicly "out" gay men in India, and a forerunner of the LGBT community in the country.
7. Gay Bombay Support Meet for Parents
Gay Bombay dance parties are popular with the LGBT community and its supporters. What fewer people know about are the Gay Bombay Support Meets for Parents, in which LGBT people bring their parents along to talk about gay life in the context of society. No other Indian city has these meets, and more than a hundred people attend each time.
8. Queer Azaadi gay parade
Since 2005, Queer Azaadi has been Mumbai's official queer march, bringing the LGBT community and its supporters together in a show of solidarity. Like gay pride marches around the world, the Queer Azaadi march also offers a safe public forum of celebration to the city's sexual minorities.
On August 16 2005, the first demonstration took place at Flora Fountain. The choice of date, one day after India's Indepedence Day, made a statement that "while the rest of India had got its independence from the British on this date in 1947, queer Indians were still bound by a British Raj law (Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, introduced in 1860) and Victorian mores that have corrupted traditional Indian acceptance of alternate sexualities," says the Queer Azaadi blog.
9. Ashok Row Kavi
Much of recent LGBT activism is inspired by the efforts of Ashok Row Kavi, a gay icon for Mumbai and a spokesperson for queer rights for over 20 years. Although he now lives in New Delhi, Kavi's legacy lives on through Bombay Dost magazine and the Hamsafar Trust, both of which he founded and both of which continue to be active.
10. Indo-centric LGBT blogs and magazines
Gaysi is a bold, active and entertaining blog focused on the gay desi, with discussions, stories and guest contributions.
Gay India's Twitter stream offers up-to-date gay-friendly news and events in the Indian context.
Bombay Dost is India's first registered LGBT magazine and a powerful medium connecting queer people across India.
Queer India is the personal blog of gay rights activist and Bombay Dost magazine editor Nitin Karani, containing a wealth of personal writings on gay issues.
