A Gay Indian Date!

Inner Circle, Connaught Place.

We are walking.

This is Connaught Place at the heart of New Delhi. The huge white pillars are passing us by on our right, as we walk along the inner circle of this magnificent shopping arcade. Above our left shoulders is the lush green Central park, the place to be for room-less lovebirds(of the heterosexual types, mostly). At the orders of the British, Connaught Place was built on a wild forested land in the early 20th century. It was supposed to be the shopping destination of the rich and the famous of Delhi. In scale it was built to overshadow any shopping district in the city at that time, and by quite a margin.

We were almost holding hands but somehow felt them getting repelled ever so soon. The evening sun is setting on us, giving way to a cool breeze, which is serving a welcome respite from a scorching summer day. We are walking more, talking less, feeling more, doing less. I am studying hard in my class and preparing for my MBA, according to my parents. Little do they know, that my classes last a little unusually longer these days. However hard the studies might have been, i have taken out some time for myself, and for him. He too has a yarn to spin and send back home, since most of us-the gay people here-are not just not out to family, but are not out to almost anybody.

Besides Connaught Place, the Britishers also left remnants of an archaic law which makes me and him illegal. According to article 377 of the Indian Constitution, carnal intercourse against the order of nature is punishable with imprisonment for life. Technically even the good old blow-job or an anal intercourse between a heterosexual couple is punishable. Now, a man and a woman might turn the laws of physics and the orders of nature inside out and upside down, but without installing cameras in every single bedroom of this country, its not possible for the authorities to even think of stopping it -- heck! they probably get close enough to a felony or two themselves every other night. But, things become pretty complicated for us homosexual people. Felony is all we can do in the bedroom, and thats why we are all criminals.

We are comfortable today. We are out to one more person each today. We feel this immense sense of carefree abandon that we might just fly away with a flutter of our wings. This moment is pleasure in its purest form, and we hold onto it, like a prostitute to her first cash. Nobody knows us better than we know each other. After all, there are very few people I am out to, and they are all the ones i have met here on a date. As we walk past hordes of people, we find each other checking out the same hot guys, peeking through the same falling necklines, and adoring the same smiles on the same men. For once, we find a slight social acceptance of our social behaviour, even if that acceptance is in one another. In the middle of all this, I am intentionally bumping into him every few minutes, just for the fun of it. The hands, well, they are still too shy to meet.

Evenings add to its charm

There is something so lovely about this moment and about this place that makes me high. I try my best to conceal it just as he tries to conceal something too, i wonder what. But its more about the emotion and less about the physicality of it. This is the most wonderful time of my week. This is the most wonderful place I can ever be. The dates here might have made me fall in love not just with the people but just as much with Connaught Place itself. This is the place that lets me be myself, without any prejudices. I feel loved here not just because of my companion, but because of this wonderful cloister that the place provides me. It makes me feel protected and cared for. The memory of the moments i have spent here with so many like myself, is probably one reason why I feel an almost subconscious love for this place. Or maybe it is the moments I have spent here, that i have fallen in love with.

Coffee at Starbucks (outer circle) to seal the day

This feeling might not be true just for myself. As me and my boy walk along the curved walkways, we see many like us. We know about them not because they are oozing with a homosexual effervescence, but because we have spotted them online, on one of the gay dating places-PlanetRomeo or Grindr. It is true for these people just as it is for me, that they too feel connected to the place and not just to the people. In the hustle-bustle of this modern metropolis, where it is criminal to be ourselves, it is Connaught Place that makes us feel at home. And it is these wonderful dates here, that make our evenings so special and makes us all feel a little bit more accepted. happy.

We take a right turn onto one of the radial roads, walk past the petrol pump to our right and reach Subway. After gobbling down 2 paneer tikka subs we venture out to look at the beautiful Statesman House. We cross the radial road to now walk along the outer circle. We see Starbucks approaching us from our right. We get there and sip 2 Caramel Macchiatos. Times running. We must hurry to reach home on time. We enter the metro from the less crowded gate number 4, and start our journeys back home. But yes, we will meet again. :)

© Quasars Are Forever