A bunch of homos and a parade!

If you didnt know any better you would think that Indian men were all a bunch of homos. Which of course, i absolutely LOVE.

Indian men are more feminine than the typical american man. I know many of you know this as I was aware of before I came, but it is so different to actually witness it. They are of course slighter in build, but it is also their gestures and their manner of speech that are softer.

Also, affection between men is very common. So I often see men walking down the street holding hands (or even better holding on to just a couple fingers of the other guy). Or the waitors in the restaurants (they are always men and there are always a gaggle of them with nothing to do) hanging on eachother, touching eachother, actually feeding eachother with their hands, or just being intimate in ways that you would never see back home.

This is the case even with young, hip men who dress in western clothes. They have their arms around each other, lean their heads into one another - and this is not just for a photo.

Last week there was a holiday - durga puja (it has multiple names which seems to be a theme here). It has something to do with the good winning out over evil. Seems like a worthy celebration right? The celebration entailed fireworks in the street, loud music and parades, and lots and lots of marigold garlands everywhere. We went out to watch some of the parades of floats heading towards the temple.

The first float was a small one with kids on it and little boys dancing in the street in front of the float. Then came a very large float with a generator in the car attached to the back. This float was tall, and the electrical wires in pune are quite low. So the wires get caught on the goddess figure on the float. But as ingenious and prepared for this obviously expected event, the Indians have a tall stick with a Y at the end like a slingshot that they use to lift the wires off the float and throw out of the way. Oh india. Meanwhile fireworks are going off everywhere and still the traffic is everywhere! Anyway Im getting distracted.

So - there was a hip dj on the float, and a couple indian men dancing on the float next to the gods. The music was loud and bumping, and the men on the float were fabulous and really getting down. This was not a pride parade, and no one was drinking! I LOVE that it is men that dance on the floates! In the street preceding the float was a large group of men dancing. Really dancing - and they were great dancers! Lots of hip action, and modern dancing with an Indian touch. Hard to describe but very pleasing to watch. One of my new bffs - Aaron - was pulled out into the dancing men. Where they proceeded to hold hands with him and dance with him and then freak him. This was the greatest moment yet. First - no one would dare pull a woman out into the street so I never had to worry about having to decline or being harrassed in any way. and secondly - how fun to watch our american friend out dancing in the street all touchy feely with the indian men!

And when they break from dancing they have their arms around eachother and they whisper into each other's ears.

So while being a real homo in India is severely unacceptable, it is nice to walk around and feel like im surrounded by a big homo indian family. But even when i think about how they are not gay, it is still just as great - to see this different version of men. Where intimacy and affection between men is normal. It is most refreshing and intriguing and always makes me like India.