GAY IN: MUMBAI - A LGBTQ+ TRAVEL GUIDE - Our Taste For Life

Contents:

• GAY : MUMBAI – A LGBTQ+ TRAVEL GUI
• GAY MUMBAI TRAVEL GUI
• MUMBAI GAY TRAVEL
• GAY MUMBAI
• FAMO GAY PEOPLE
• A GAY GUI TO BROOKLYN
• QUEER & GAY BERL: YOUR GUI FOR LGBTQ+ BERL

GAY : MUMBAI – A LGBTQ+ TRAVEL GUI

The gay ‘scene’, once ncealed to the unrworld, is slowly beg accepted both socially and polilly, wh regular events poppg up around the cy. They also anise regular gay-meets and events, cludg club nights at Invcible Boudoir & Jard – Aptly anagrammed as Invcible BJ! While Mumbai is relatively safe for gay travellers, naturally there are some thgs to be aware of when enjoyg your time the cy.

You uld say this falls unr the tegory of rpectg social etiquette; however, ’s important to note that this isn’t a le jt for gay travellers Mumbai.

GAY MUMBAI TRAVEL GUI

VOODOO, COLABA By the 1990s the actn spread to Voodoo, a pub at the end of the Gateway promena, and possibly India’s first gay-iendly hangout. KARMA LOUNGE, OPERA HOUSE The now-funct rtrant (’s been replaced by Canto) was popular for gay parti durg the post-liberalisatn boom of the ’90s. Eventually Hotels Dadar, Andheri, Juhu, Chembur and Ghatkopar started hostg parti anised by gay clubs, wh entry fe (dner, drks and dancg) for as ltle as ₹100.

But events around the year tackle at gay issu outsi of activism and, the Lab‘s own words “nfigur new ways of exprsg and celebratg queerns”. The short film roped iends like Rahul Bose as the st, and shot at the cy’s gay clubs, men’s public toilets and Apsara Theatre at Lamgton Road.

MUMBAI GAY TRAVEL

GADKARI RANGAYATAN, THANE This is where Mrachi Ghosta, Vijay Tendulkar’s play about a llege stunt who realis she is lbian, buted 1981. While there is not a specifc gay neighborhood, and any of the LGBTQ parti and events are unrground, there are some gay-iendly spots popular wh both lols and tourists. Sce then, there haven’t been exclively queer clubs or bars India, but the last , the queer rights movement has proliferated through the crevic of Mumbai’s homophobia.

Such parti were prevly ually held suburban areas, far om the cy’s maland, bee prime party spots were tough als to crack, pecially bee of the wispread homophobia, and fear om Sectn 377 of the Indian Penal Co (IPC), brgg wh them hate crim and raids. One of the longt-nng onle queer support groups India sce 1998, Gay Bombay was also one of pneers to host private queer parti the cy’s clubs 2000. While queer and trans men have a multu of queer party optns to choose om, media pany and onle queer rource centre, Gaysi sought out to level the ground by anisg events for LBT femal Bombay sce 2007.

While the party is ually open to all the members of the muny, Gaysi rightfully sists that male atten mt e along wh at least one female pann. Apart om at Kty Su and Gaysi’s events, there’s a clear lack of trans and LBT folks at many of the clubs, mostly bee of the venue proprietor’s and predomantly gay muny’s phobic attu towards trans, femme folks. One of the openly gay personali India, the 61-year-old Padma Shri recipient has penned down a heartfelt poem exprsg his anguish over the recent verdict of crimalizg gay sex tled ‘Through love’s great power’.

GAY MUMBAI

Like a te royal who dit himself to the muny, Manvendra Sgh Gohil has been actively volved raisg awarens towards homosexualy and the implitns of AIDS sce the day he me out public, ten years ago. That didn’t stop the Prce and he set up his own chary lled Lakshya Foundatn that works wh homosexual men and the transgenr muny to promote safer sexual practic, spe often facg hdranc om the police.

A Journalist and one of the most proment LGBT rights activists India, Kavi is the founr and chairperson of the Humsafar Tst and has been one of the first people to openly talk about homosexualy and gay rights the untry. Fortunately he was enuraged by a senr monk to eely explore and exprs his homosexualy and he left the monastery and went on to study at the Internatnal School of Journalism, ‘g-out’ terview ma headl after appearg Savvy magaze 1986. His anisatn ntu to mobilise legal emancipatn of homosexualy India, bis nng several terventn programm for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmted fectns Mumbai and Goa.

FAMO GAY PEOPLE

Yet Mumbai has a large LGBTQ crowd – anizg parti, film ftivals and paras – wh several openly gay figur, cludg Bollywood celebri. Azaad Bazaar, the untry’s first LGBT pri store opened Bandra 2009, whereas D’Kloset, the cy’s first gay fashn store opened Bandra 2010. And, even though support for the crimalizatn of homosexualy has emerged om all over the untry, cludg om Misters om the current ernment power, activists have been seekg to reverse the urt’s cisn sce.

Started 2010 after the Delhi High Court lg, KASHISH screens featur, short films, documentari, and experimental films that highlight gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr characters and stori. What started as a platform to enurage the Di LGBTQ+ muny to share their stori, Gaysi Fay has grown to be one of the most popular spac for the artists and wrers the muny.

A GAY GUI TO BROOKLYN

Along wh an active onle publitn, they also moved towards prt wh Gaysi Z, prtg a llectn of stori and artworks om the Gay muny.

QUEER & GAY BERL: YOUR GUI FOR LGBTQ+ BERL

Before gettg to the remendatns of this Mumbai gay travel gui, I would like to warn you that this cy is not for the fat of heart.