DOING THE STORY Just as you start on a story, you talk to groups and individuals. So I picked up the phone and started to ask women I knew, “Do you know any lesbians?”. Instead of a straight answer, some sternly questioned, “Why are you asking me?” Or after a brief talk, “Why do you want to know?”

Face to face, women reacted with a pause more than men. Many tried to conceal their surprise or awkwardness at saying ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know these sort of people.’ (For all those who don’t know, you might be with one).
Not just that. A male buddy of mine replied, “Oh yes I do. What kind of a joke is this, ‘Do I know any lesbians?”’ Since I did not get many leads, another guy suggested I should masquerade as one. Next time, I thought a veiled approach would be better.
I asked a celebrity if she wanted to speak on a woman-to-woman relationship. Justifiably she questioned further, “What kind?” “The emotional and the physical one,” I answered. “Oh absolutely not, definitely not me,” was the reply. Another celebrity from the media said, “Who asked you to speak to me?” Since I wasn’t into giving names, the visibly angry celebrity questioned further, “Whom all have you spoken with?” I still wouldn’t tell, except for the names that my story discloses. End of conversation.
As most of my friends knew I was working on this story, the men were more interested to know if any of the women had made a pass at me. They also wanted to know what my reaction would be if one of them did. The answer was: A pass by a man is any day repulsive. Almost all the women I spoke to from the lesbian community wanted to know what prompted me to do this story. Well, the idea came from Femina and the editor shall answer that.
SHABANA AZMI DISCUSSES THE FILM FIRE What’s your perspective on lesbian relations having dealt with it in the movie Fire ? Fire wasn’t only about lesbian relationships. To me, essentially, Fire was a key — a peg towards trying to understand ‘the other’ — the other religion, other race, other nation — anything that we view as outside of our self.
It was about whether we could empathise with these two women who fall in love with each other. We have treated this issue in India by pretending that this does not exist, as we do with most other issues we are uncomfortable with. If you want to deal with an issue, the first thing that you have to do is accept that it exists.
Then, as a society that calls itself tolerant and all-encompassing, you have to work out a relationship to include those marginalised sections of society, who you don’t necessarily understand. Fire for me was an opportunity to present that point of view.
I knew some people would react with wonder, some with anger, some with total acceptance, some with rejection and some with inquiry. That’s the first step in dealing with it — when you can inquire rather than reject. So Fire provided that opportunity. A large number of people who spoke to me from different sections of society seemed to have liked it, rather than disliked it.”
COMING THROUGH THE AGES Homosexuality has an ancient history in India, with references to it found in texts like the Rig Veda and then again in the Kama Sutra . Sculptures found in ancient sites across India, clearly depict homo-sexuality.
It is believed that suppression of homosexuality began with the advent of Brahminism; the Manusmriti laid down severe punishments for women indulging in homosexual acts. The suppression was reinforced by British Colonialism.
Viewing homosexuality as a ‘new’ phenomenon, or one that has entered the country because of ‘Western media’ (the favourite punching bag!) is thus, rather erroneous. It is not a freakish development of modern society, nor something to be dismissed as a ‘problem’ individual. It is a state of being, one that has seemingly existed through the ages.


The Legal Aspects