JAM GOES TO A GP

Ever since JAM decided to do a Gay Special Issue we just HAD to know what it felt like to be at one of those infamous Gay Parties. So two of our most intrepid staff members, Toulou and Kaushik, made some calls and got themselves invited to a rocking Gay party right here in Mumbai! This is what they had to say when they returned!

THE LIQUID LOUNGE GP (Gay Party)

I had to write about this party for a long time now but just didn't know how to get started. Then last night I saw something on India TV and thought, it has to be written not only for the sake of an article but also to send across an important message.

India TV was covering this gay party in Indore promoting it as a scandal, where gays meet and dance naked and then book rooms in hotels with many people sleeping together. They went to the extent of naming some famous people who were involved.

Let's accept it; parties like these are not limited to gays. We all know what happens in certain high society parties. Who's to say that it's wrong? If you aren't forcing people to get in bed with you how does it matter who's sleeping with whom or how many? Today everyone is aware of the deadly disease AIDS and if you think you can avoid it even after indulging in acts like these, you are responsible for your own actions. Don't target gays.

I attended a GP last week at Liquid Lounge and didn't see anything dirty there. It was just some like-minded people getting together to have a good night out; the way all parties are. Let me take you through the night…

THE ENTRY: I had gone with a friend. The valet gave us a sheepish smile (as we were both girls), sneered and said, " Party madam! Enjoy". When we reached the entrance we were told, pointedly, " It's a GP. Do you know what that is?"

We were a bit scared about being thrown out if we mentioned our sexual orientation as straight. But it wasn't like that. We paid 500 bucks each and entered. It was early so there weren't that many people. Only guys were present and for once they were least interested in the girls. As we stood at the bar drinking beer I got an sms from a guy friend who had refused to come along. It said: Don't stay late, be safe. If Shiv Sena comes to know about this party, you'll all get busted.

Later the editor messaged saying: I was worried about you people.

THE LOUNGE AND MUSIC: Music was similar to that played in other pubs. There was a lot of Enrique, Shakira and J Lo. Punjabi and Bollywood were thrown in every once in a while to get the mood started. There was trance but no rock. Overall the music was good to sway around and later, as the night progressed, to dance madly to.

THE CROWD: Like any other party, the cooler crowd arrived late. Some television celebs had the hottest 'phirang' boyfriends. I saw more guys in slim fitting jeans than I've ever seen before. Mostly all the grown ups were casually dressed while the younger crowd went experimental with looks, hair colour, clothes etc. Guys either came in groups or as couples. Some met their friends at the party while some started flirting with someone else's boyfriend, pissing off the original boyfriend. For a long time my friend and I were the only girls there. Later we spotted 10 more. But the place was packed with guys.

JAADU AND HIS INHIBITIONS: Somewhere in between, Kaushik (popularly known as Jaadu) called up as he was supposed to join me at the party. I asked him to come up but he was skeptical about it. I went outside to tell him what it was like inside and what a perfectly safe place it was for him to party. It took much cajoling and assurance to get him in and I'm sure he doesn't regret it. He saw the same things that happen at all parties, just packaged with a different crowd.

Psst: He danced like a maniac to " Hips don't lie" and "Golmaal"!

THE EXIT: We left together. Kaushik was happy to have gotten out safe and 'straight'. For me it was like any other good night out with drinking and dancing. But there was something more.

THE TRANSITION: Though I have always felt like this, I experienced it this time. Gays and lesbians are like any other people we meet on road. Some are tall, some are short, some are fat, some are slim, some have short hair, some have long, some talk too much, some stay quiet, some would prefer to sleep with me and some with Kaushik. It's not easy for straight people to understand their sexual preference but life is more than just sex. And there was more to the party than sex.There was freedom of expression.

The Guy Point of View
Having always tried to convince myself that I won't be shocked if I ever encounter a gay, when the time came for me to go to a gay party, I suddenly developed cold feet. The party started, my female colleague went in, but I just couldn't get myself to even stand on the same side of the road as the venue.

I tried hard to regain my composure, and kept trying till I finally succeeded. Success took an hour to come. OMG that last bit was totally unintentional.

Once inside, I was enlightened by my extremely supportive colleague - the booze was highly subsidized. Fifty bucks for a pint of beer - no, not beer but Fosters, Oztraylian for beeah - is cheaper than what you can get at any wine shop in Rae Bareilly, let alone an upmarket lounge bar in the heart of Mumbai. But the extent to which I freaked out was beyond the scope of some measly 8% strength drink, or even 42.8% for that matter. But it was definitely not beyond the scope of some delicious chicken pizza slices. Even though I took the first bite very warily (fearing that it was laced with some lethal impotency seasoning), the sheer taste, coupled with the price drove all my fears away.

The typical dance floor combination of Bollywood, hip-hop and electronica/ trance/ house/ blouse music was, though expected, a big turn off (as if the sight of male-crotch-grinding-male-crotch wasn't but I'll just let that pass). The setting was as normal as it gets: crowded dance-floor, people shaking their bon-bons and randomly making out, with a vast majority of them dolled up for the occasion - extra make-up, hair gel, lip gloss, tight shiny clothes and the works. Except that by people I meant men. Not that there weren't any females - far from it. For about 300 men, there were 6.

Now's the part I confess - my mental stereotypes were only partly true. So, while there were umpteen waxed arms (and legs), hair ironed and tied in a bun and tight fitting clothes that talked like excessively feminine versions of Paris Hilton, there were quite a few who had semblances of hair on their bodies (and faces). Of course there were a few who weren't gyrating all over the dance floor. But I'll just give them the benefit of the doubt - they must've been rocker gay dudes. Oh and before I forget - you don't get randomly felt up. Weird stares, yes, but that's not something that's going to cause erectile dysfunction. Before going to a gay party, bear in mind that gays in India refer only to males - don't go there having high hopes guys (the way I did).

Just for the record, the pizza was complimentary.

Kaushik Chatterji