Not so straight Stories

Mumbai - a city of dreams for many in India, is also a city that reflects the kaleidoscopic spectrum of India’s various sexualities. No wonder it’s called a city, which never sleeps.

As the darkness descends on hutments in some parts of this metro, many places light up with the fiery desire and a quest for sex. The trade off is simple at times- money, a plum role in Bollywood or a promotion at work. Complexities arise when there are strings attached to the big S word – homo, hetero, bi, omni, kinky or sweaty.

Thus i tell the tales of complex relationships, feelings and lives - Not so straight Stories. Through a new series of my blogs, this is my attempt to unravel a few new layers of Mumbai’s alternative sexuality underbelly, which is under wraps but very obvious.

In my version of sex and the city, there would be three guys and a dyke unlike the four girls of the series. The protagonists here would be me by default, my ex-roomies called kabir and Aryan along with Shreya, an acquaintance from the post graduate course. The names of course have been changed for the sake of anonymity

Four friends in heart of India’s queer capital Mumbai. Being felt up in their train travel and visual intercourse in the form of staring by strangers are an everyday routine to the populi of this metropolis. All of them in different stages of coming out form a kaleidoscopic gradient of shades of pink.

The central character here is a struggling writer, whose struggles don’t end at his ever shifting careers but spill over to family, friends, lifestyle pangs and love life. Praful as you know through the earlier blogs would look different from this version for the sheer fact that past two to three years have been hallmarked in my life with various leaps of faith, arrival at core questions of life and finding answers to them. Yours truly was naïve, obsessively restless, hedonistic but excessively sensitive social butterfly at the time when the narrative is set. Scared to fall in love again, phoenix, rises from the ashes time and again

Aryan was and has always been a child unable to feel deep emotions. His moments of awe, love, insanity, friendship etc. are all overshadowed by his ego and self centeredness much like a 6-year old adamant leo kid. What you see of him is just the tip of the iceberg as beneath the layers of narcissism and compulsion lies an insecure human living with the farce of being super confident, super sorted and super right personality. Thinks that he is head on with career- a job that works for him, lavish lifestyle, endless ego – like an aging star past his glory phase. All in all Aryan is childlike – innocent but fierce, adamant and attractive, refusing the guidance but welcoming acceptance, he lives, laughs, enjoys, gets excited and provides great company to all those who can see beyond his compulsions and self made barriers of attitude.

Shreya may look like a petite girl trying to be macho in the wake of her lesbianism but in real she’s more a man than any of the bisexuals and tops who take excessive pride in their masculinity and more of a woman than any of the feline femmes who rock the cosmetic industry. She has always wanted to be something but been vague about what that something would be and I guess that where my connect with her comes as we together try to do everything in sight and rejoice the successes and expertly cover up the disappointments of a failure. You can spot her at party or a hang out, completely chilled out thanks to her constant companions -Grass and weed. Her charm, simple humour and vulnerability earn her fair share of fans in the L- circle of the metropolis.


Last but not the least, Kabir basks in radiance of his earthy appeal. A sexually hyperactive, quirky, funny and genuine person, he is a delight of a roomie and friend. The only chink in his armour comes in his inability to say no to his parents about marriage inspite of being a flaring queen. We see him questioning the premises of a person being whatever he is sans his sexuality while he deals with his marriage and career dilemmas

In the following blogs, I intend to show a day in life of all the four – their dates, failed love lives, financial pangs, families, attitudes- their little joys, little sorrows, Bandra Bandstand, coffees, Movies, shopping, phone calls from parents, urban space pangs, how much to accept from a bf, how much shit to take, phone sex, cheating, two timing – divide and rule. Malls, Romeo and Juliet seats in a theatre, Gay party v/s private party at home… dilemma, temptations of joining a strip performers troupe and an escort service, Cooking, dancing, bonding, gifts, walls, police, Saccharine sweet gay couples and str8 ones irritating when they cant keep their hands off each other, Marriage of convenience amongst thousand other things that affect an average Indian not- so- straight individual. Hope you are ready for this heady mix, doesn’t matter what way you like it... bottoms up or straight up ;)