Over 400 titles on queer issues and lives will be showcased at the country's first queer book fair, which participants hope will widen the scope of traditional narratives, and empower the LGBT community to tell their own stories

At the ongoing Queer Book Fairu00a0-- the first of its kind in the countryu00a0-- 'identity' is the central theme.
"Identity is a very important basis from where we can understand who we are in the world. Identity is the other side of community," says writer and queer activist Minal Hajratwla, who will host a writing workshop in the afternoon, today.



Over 400 titles dealing with queer issues and lives are available at discounted prices. "Never before have these titles been available in one place. There are books for parents, for women; non-mainstream titles that we don't hear about or that may not be available in bookstores," says Shobhna S Kumar, the organiser of the book fair and founder of queer-ink.com, India's first online bookstore "for everything Queer".

QUEER AND HERE
Parmesh Shahani, author of Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)Longing in Contemporary India, says that being gay is not just about one's sexual orientation. "To me, and everyone I interviewed (for the book), being gay is about being part of a sexual identity that is linked to a matrix of other identities."
Parmesh, who will lead a discussion on being gay within a Global-India context tomorrow evening (see box), says that the gay population in India is unique.

"Gays and lesbians want to express their identity, but within the framework of family and community. I know people who want arranged marriages (with same-sex partners) so that they can integrate into society in mainstream ways," he says.

The Delhi High Court's decision last year to strike down the provision of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised sexual activity "against the order of nature" is a step in the right direction, believes Parmesh. "377 has destigmatised homosexuality amongst queers themselves. It has helped shift the issue of homosexuality from a question of morality to a question of human rights."

The book fair is an effort to widen the scope of conventional narratives, which is an important step for the community, says Minal.
"India has a long tradition of honouring same-sex love, practices, and emotional relationships in its spiritual texts and culture," says Minal.

Closer home
Shobhna hopes that the fair will encourage people of all sexual orientations to talk. "Let's be kind, let's be accommodating, let's not lead our lives in ignorance," she says, adding, "7.5% of any population is gay/ lesbian/ hijra or intersex. Every family member has someday who is 'different'. Let's be aware of who our family members are."

At Candies, 5AA, Pali Hill,
St Andrews Road, Bandra (W).
ON Today and tomorrow;
From 1 pm to 7 pm
LOG ON TO www.facebook.com/QiBookFair

TODAY
Talkfest with Minal Hajratwala
FROM 4 pm to 5.30 pm
Open Mic
Solo or duo performances of up to five minutes by individuals wishing to share their own writing or derived work.
FROM 8 pm to 10 pm

TOMORROW
The Queer Marathi Hour (with Bindumadhav Khiret, self-published author of Indradhanu and Partner in Marathi and Hindi)
FROM 5 pm to 7 pm
Parmesh Shahani on Gay Bombay within a Global-India context
FROM 6 pm to 7 pm
There will be a daily lucky draw as well.

Queer Ink's Top 5 picks at the book fair
Loving Women (Being lesbian in unprivileged India) by Maya Sharma; published by Parul Nair and Arpita Das, Yoda Press
A chronicle of life experiences among lesbian women.

Same Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History; edited by by Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai; published by Palgrave, St Martin's Press
Collection of writings on the subject of same-sex love.

Straight Parents, Gay Children: Keeping Families Together by Robert A Bernstein, published by Thunder's Mouth Press
The author writes about his coming to terms with his daughter being lesbian.

Sex & Power by Susan Estrich published by The Berkley Publishing Group
Susan Estrich addresses the need to restructure the workplace for women, and why they must stand together for change.

Intersex and After
(A Journal of Gay and Lesbian studies); edited by Iain Morland, published by Duke University Press
Experts discuss the future of treatment for people born with ambiguous genitalia.