Ironic Identities

“To put it plainly it is a simple love story. The only difference being that both the lovers are men. The novel,which is set in the Pune of the 80s,traces the odds they have to go through just to stay together. Of course,I look at their story satirically rather than looking at it sentimentally,” he says.

Rao feels that there are no target audiences for these books,“Anyone who enjoys reading fiction can read the books,” he adds.

And while cynics might argue that both his books are based on the same theme,Rao begs to differ. “They (the two books )are very different from each other in terms of the story that they tell,the plot,the characters and the narration. A writer’s concerns may be few,but his skill,I believe,lies in how he conceives and constructs each book,so as to be different from his last. In other words,newness of form is to me more important than newness of content,” he adds with considerable insight.

Incidentally Rao feels that the mainstream concerns regarding these subjects are of little interest to him. “I believe gay identity is part of the subaltern identity that we speak about so much these days,” he says,adding,“ Hence my work,both as a writer,and as an academic,tends to harp on the theme of gayness.” Rao does maintain that a lot however has changed and that the reading down of Section 377 was a good sign for the community. “I still feel that the mainstream has a way of consigning those who think differently from itself to the margins or the periphery. Don’t you think this is disrespect of the worst kind?” he asks quizzically.