A Queer Day Out with Lunch: A tour of the LGBTQAI+ community of Mumbai

Today, while travel companies across the country have started offering travel packages tailored for Queer tourists, most of them conflate the idea of a ‘Queer-tour’ with what is really just a ‘Queer-friendly tour’. In the name of Queer tours, many companies offer Queer friendly guides/hotels/drivers but tourists are taken to the usual tourist spots which have nothing particularly Queer about them (neither in fact nor symbolically). Section 377 of the Indian Constitution, which criminalised homosexual carnal acts, was read down on September 6th, 2018 and India went from being ‘dangerous for Queer persons’ to ‘accepting’.
If you are the kind who wants in on the dirty gossip, who wants to know how Queer folx in Mumbai engage in cruising, who is interested in how Queerness is performed in Mumbai, how it is fought for and what is it fought against… We have a Queertastic day curated for you!

No Footprints’ Queer’s Day Out is unique in its offering – with a tour that involves a full day of flirting with various aspects that frame Queer lives of persons in the city. It starts with the question ‘What makes Bombay Queer?’ and journeys to various spots across South Bombay to find the answer while experiencing the dynamic Queer culture of Bombay. Or as Queer folx here call it—Bomgay!

Immerse in the rich Queer History and Culture

Trans Now: One of the most exciting and fulfilling parts of the tour entails a visit to a temple of a goddess worshipped by the traditional transgender communities. Conversations will revolve around traditional communities of trans women in India, their identities and lifestyles, livelihood opportunities, focusing on sex work and the state denying it legitimacy and much more. Cruising in the world of Grindr: Cruising has been intrinsic to Queerness and Bomgay has a rich heritage when it comes to the sub-culture. We will take you to the place of crime and while you may not be able to witness the action live, we will fill you up with enough insider knowledge. 

Home is where the Pride is: There has been so much Queerness tied to food and eateries. While we take a break from the excitement and have lunch at a cafe where folks gather after the Mumbai Pride March every year, our tour guide will engage you in a conversation about Mumbai Pride: History, conflicts, joy, the colours, its failures—and collectively try to answer the question, What makes us Proud? 

Coming Out: We also visit a lovely Irani cafe which was a hub for Queer folx through the late nineteenth century and continues to retain remnants of its Queer past. We try to understand what made spaces attractive for Queer folx, even when they were not designated spaces for Queers. We also explore the act of coming out. The act of ‘coming out’ is a pivotal part of every Queer person’s life journey. But, what is our understanding of ‘being out’ and does the same practice exist everywhere?

Queer is Fashion, fashion is queer: The understanding of the Queer culture of a place is incomplete if one doesn’t understand how Queer locals respond to fashion. We take you to a place where middle-class Queer folx from in and around the city come to pick up things that they would be too shy to shop from a store near their house! You will get to know about how caste and class are subverted with fashion, how gender is challenged, and how Queerness is performed—all on a shoestring budget!