The queer safety map: Where India's LGBTQIA+ community finds their space

Ask anyone whos spent a lifetime being looked at what safety feels like and you wont get an answer about locks and guards Youll get an answer about breath About shoulders droppingAcross Delhi Bengaluru Kolkata Mumbai and Goa midday asked queer individuals one question where is the one place in your city where you feel 100 per cent safe to be loud The answers ranged from bookstores to film festivals from a tea stall outside a multiplex to a karaoke night What emerged wasnt a list of addresses but a map of exhale pointsWhile Sarvagya considers the stage his safe space Dareez did a photoshoot at queerfriendly Sanjay Van in South Delhi Photo credit Sarvagya and DareezDelhi A city of surveillance and the spaces carved out anywayDelhi shows up first in every conversation as a city of eyes metro scanners streetcorner stares the low hum of being watched Dareez Gaur a trans fashion model and microinfluencer dareez doesnt pretend the city has cracked the code yetAs much as I have come to embrace Delhi as a home city I just cannot name a totally freeing spot because we are far away from achieving that in any of our cities in India she says For Dareez the only spaces that come close are the ones queer people built themselves Delhi has one of the most happening queer communities in the country and it has great potential to let queer people be free she addsThe 23yearold is candid about the privilege that shapes her experience of the city Blending in with normal crowds has not been as difficult but is clear about whats at stake when that armour comes off Euphoria feels like taking up the space you were always meant to take Your voice belongs Your outfit isnt something you have to defend Your shoulders drop Nothing is at risk I think the truest version of that feeling is achievable but not a reality for most people she sharesDareez also has a cleareyed read on performative inclusion saying ldquoThe performative place has a rainbow flag in June and nothing in July The real vibe check is what happens when something goes wrong does the bartender step in or look away A genuinely safe space isnt full of allies congratulating themselves Its full of queer people who chose to come backFor Sarvagya 26 an artiststoryteller comic and musician who is a transman the gaze got heavier after transition not lighter To be honest I feel more eyes on me post transition because now I have long hair and a short beard to go along with my small frame The gazes dont leave me he admits His safespace list reads like a tour of Delhis southern belt Dilli Haat INA Mehrauli Archaeological Park Humayunpur JNU When I am not watched I feel I can breathe he says As an artist his idea of safe extends to the stage itself ldquoOpen mics bookstores and the creative ecosystem help me dream I deeply cherish writing at Blue Tokai and long afternoons at Sanjay Van he addsFor community support he points to Tweet Foundation Transmen Collective the LGBTQ Centre Ishq Collective Q Connect Nazariya and Naz FoundationGoa A smaller scene a bigger sense of easeAnd then theres Goa described not as a perfect utopia but as a workable manageable version of one Nihal Satpute 49 founder of Queer Kinara queer_kinara_goa has been running the LGBTQIA collective for over eight years curating drag nights karaoke and meetups for a mixed crowd of settlers locals and touristsThe weekly Bollywood nights on Saturdays are Nihal says the great equaliser It is easier for everyone to enjoy The locals also flock to us from villages across Goa They step out of conservative houses to come every Saturday to mingle Most local attendees arent out which is why they dont post much on social media to protect privacyNihal moved to Goa nine years ago from Mumbai What started as a small group of friends hanging out together grew into something bigger driven by a universal need LGBTQIA individuals need spaces where they can be themselves because it is exhausting to pretend to be someone I am notThe assumption of straightness follows you everywhere Nihal points out You have to constantly come out which is a struggle After a decade of coming out themselves Nihal sees safe spaces as more than nicetohaves They become a catalyst for younger queers to interact with older queersWhat makes Goa different in Nihals telling isnt activism but scale and history The hippie culture movement let the locals become live and let live for decades I have never faced any discrimination on my face You dont feel scared in Goa because its manageable Even straight cisgender Goans are more relaxed about displays of affection than their counterparts in bigger citiesThe communitys small size has an unexpected upside too overlap There was no scope of mingling with lesbians or trans individuals elsewhere but because the community is so small there is much more overlapping that happens at events Nihal saysFor those visiting or seeking out the scene queerfriendly spots include Saltamontes in Anjuna Moody Mary Uncultured and Pablos in Assagao Misfits in Saligao and queerowned 7 Long 1 Short in Moira Hopping Frog in Anjuna along with J129 sports bar in Candolim regularly host community eventsMani a nueroqueer therapist organises flea markets support groups art days and meetups online and offline to create a larger support system in Bengaluru Photo credit ManiBengaluru Bookstores bakeries and the quiet radicalism of representationFor Mani maney_ 25 a neuroqueer mental health therapist in Bengaluru safety isnt a single definition it shifts depending on who you are and which identities youre carrying Access to safety differs based on our intersecting identities she says She points to a pattern she sees often in queer spaces a reliance on nightlife and substance use as the default mode of communitybuilding filling a gap left by the neartotal absence of accessible healthcare This is not a community issue but a systemic failure of providing safety she explainsWhat shes looking for instead and what she tries to build are spaces that centre accessibility for margins cater to slowness and centre joy through a process of visibility Champaca Bookstore tops her list Reading stories of joy and intersections at Champaca has been an incredibly healing experience The space is warm and welcoming They have an exclusive queer section and that makes me feel very hopeful Theres more than one queer person out there and theres more than one queer story she sharesAnother recommendation is Backer and Charlie the queerowned bakery in Indiranagar where shes hosting a queer brunch Manu paints a picture Imagine queer people meeting over bakes and brews as we chat about our shared experiencesHer work has also taken her to the Museum of Art and Photography where shes been running a monthly neuroqueer support group Art has always had a queer history and representations of queer mental health From Virginia Woolfs writings to the desi queer experience depicted in Bhupen Khakhars paintings queer representation in art is a powerful documentation of queer storytelling she saysAnd then perhaps unexpectedly a childrens bookstore Funky Rainbow houses books across many intersections and languages and Mani was struck by its collection of queer childrens books I felt reassured that queerness is for all Its a disruptive idea that questions patriarchy not a superficial western thought about sexualityFor Mani queer safe spaces are chosen spaces for selfexpression ldquoPlaces that let people feel comfort in unmasking and not hiding our identities That belief shapes her own work she organises flea markets support groups art days and meetups online and offline to create a larger support system outside therapy a chosen system where we can express ourselves without fearKolkata offers myriad queerfriendly spaces from a legacy restaurant to a staterun multiplex even open universities that double as a space to protest for the LGBTQIA community Photo credit PriyadarshiniKolkata Tea stalls karaoke nights and a city that doesnt blinkIf Delhis safety is hardwon and Bengalurus is curated Kolkatas as Priyadarshini describes it sounds almost ambient Priyadarshini queeringtheframe 29 a nonbinary femme lesbian person works as a brand manager at a bar and identifies as a gendersexual rights activistHer list starts with the citys cultural calendar the Kolkata International Film Festival and Book Fair both temporary but undeniably safe Then theres Coffee House on College Street beloved for one simple reason No one cares who you are You can come in and get coffee And smoke at the table hahaUniversity campuses make the list too Jadavpur and Presidency both open campuses where in Priyadarshinis words If something happens people raise their voice and have zero tolerance behaviour towards queerphobiaEvery Thursday Tavern part of the Park Street institution Trincas hosts a queer karaoke night All the staff at Trincas is extremely sensitised The owner Anand is from the community and hes done a fantastic job of turning a legacy restaurant into a queer safe space she saysTheres also the stretch around Nandan the staterun multiplex and Ranuchhaya Mancha behind it mdash an area Priyadarshini has been visiting since she was a child She paints it like a living archive posters of Satyajit Ray Ritwik Ghatak Suchitra Sen Uttam Kumar Rabindranath Tagore stalls of handmade jewellery food stalls the most beloved being Hari Dar Cha Theres queerness all around in abundance Queer and trans people are always seen sitting chatting and drinking tea here even before 377 was repealed no one ever bats an eye she sharesIts a nojudgment zone she reflects without quite being able to explain why Its a place where the Bengali middleclass intelligentsia doesnt exhibit homophobia or transphobia Sometimes safety doesnt come with a backstory its just a fact on the groundShe also highlights Nutcase the cocktail parlour she works at has genderneutral bathrooms and sensitised servers since before she joinedNaaz aka Emperor Naaz has been performing drag across India for four years Photo credit NaazMumbai When inclusion becomes policy not performanceIn Mumbai Naaz B 34 a nonbinary transmasculine corporate professional and drag artist emperornaazbee_ draws a sharp line between spaces that talk inclusion and spaces that fund it Some spaces are constantly evolving actively learning working to normalise inclusivity Others claim inclusivity but lack the action to back it up Naaz observesFor them the gold standard isnt a club or cafeacute but a corporate office During two years at JPMorgan Chase top surgery was covered under the companys medical insurance It wasnt just respectful interpersonal interactions it was embedded in policy They cultivated an environment where curiosity met respect and where I felt celebrated as a whole person not just defined by my queer identity they recallOn the cultural side antiSocial earns similar praise for platforming diverse queer performances with genuine curiosity and respect Naazs hierarchy is candid ldquoKitty Su up to a certain level though more limited than antiSocial Veranda a newer space thats shown quite an interest in queer programming and Den home for queer people in general Theres also a trans cafeacute in the city where only trans people are hired to workrdquo