A Queer Freedom

This was the first time that Bhan and Menon were collaborating,and the event saw an overwhelming audience; some even had to follow the show on projectors outside the hall.

Known for her “Fat,Feminist,and Free” stand-up performances for the last four years,Menon cracked up the crowd with

accounts of her encounters with strangers who would urge to try concoctions and recipes to “cure the problem”. “Humour is a very good way to bring a larger audience to engage in expressions related to sexuality,gender and identity,” said Menon,who

was performing in Delhi publicly for the

first time.

Bhan’s jibes at the muddle-some relationship between politics and sexuality started with a video of Azad making his statement. This was followed by a tongue-in-cheek commentary on a wide range of issues,from explaining the “words of Azad,a fellow Kashmiri”,to PlanetRomeo website profiles (“I am looking for someone caring who can rule over me”,for instance).

“People are looking for places to be able to laugh both at themselves,and at things that are considered taboo and heavy,” said Bhan after the show.

With a kebab and beer stall in one corner,the venue reverberated with sounds of hilarity,some even wiping their eyes between bouts of laughter. “We were looking for ways to talk about things that would get people to really listen and provoke them. We didn’t want to make things so heavy that people would be turned off,” added Bhan.

“There are people who really want to have this conversation. This was the point of the show,” he concluded.

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