The Closet is Ajar

Publishing,though,had never featured in Kumar’s scheme of things,not even when she launched Queer Ink,a Mumbai-based online bookstore,two years ago. “I launched it to make queer literature accessible to Indian readers,” says Kumar,who would devour her father’s collection of Perry Mason series and Raymond Chandler’s books as a child. Her decision to retail books was triggered by “selfish reasons”. “I read a lot. In late 2009,when I was confined to my home with a fractured ankle,I searched for certain books related to the LGBT community. Most of them were not available in India. Even Amazon was not very forthcoming in shipping them,” she says. So,the 45-year-old started collating all the queer titles she had loved reading as well as those on her wish list. And thus began the idea of Queer Ink,an online bookstore selling gay literature.

The initiative threw up mixed results. Some distributors in India were encouraging while others refused to provide her with the desired titles. Apart from having problems with a queer-themed bookstore,they were wary of a start-up venture. Even some of the foreign distributors were hesitant to take orders. But that didn’t bog down Kumar,and she asked friends visiting India from abroad to bring suitcases full of queer titles. “So much ignorance exists in India regarding the LGBT community. There are books which can help get rid of it,” she says. To back her argument,she pulls out some titles from a neatly stacked bookshelf at her office in Mumbai’s Santacruz West. The copies of The Transgender Studies Reader by Susan Stryker and Stephan Whittle,Intersex by Thea Hillman,and Tranny: Boys will be Girls by Fiona Mallrattle form a pile on her table.

The 600-odd stock of books with Queer Ink are an interesting mix. Along with books such as Same Sex Love in India (edited by Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai) and Facing the Mirror (edited by Ashwini Sukthankar),there are volumes of Tamil pulp fiction. When asked what’s queer about them,she says,“They are so much fun. I had to keep them.”

With Kumar’s handpicked titles — including 86 Indian books — Queer Ink made its first public appearance in May 2010 at Kashish,Mumbai International Queer Film Festival,where she had set up a kiosk. Kumar also travelled along with her stock of books to many Indian cities during pride marches to sell and promote queer literature.

These efforts helped the online bookstore become popular. “We receive nearly 100 orders in a month. Initially,these orders came from across India. Now,we have customers in the US,UK and Australia,” she says. To her surprise,several people started sending manuscripts to the store too for publishing. The portal did not disappoint them. It formally called for submissions nearly a year ago. And found its editor in Minal Hajratwala,the author of Leaving India: My Family’s Journey From Five Villages to Five Continents,after Kumar’s chance meeting with her at a Mumbai bookstore.

“Out! is the first collection of stories for a general Indian audience that aims to be truly queer in the broadest sense. It’s not just gay stories,but stories by and about all of the people who fill our lives,” says Hajratwala. The copy-editing of the book is over and it will go to print within a month. Of its 28 stories,five are written by writers who are straight. The book also has a set of illustrations and an interaction between Chitra Palekar and Nandita Das. Apart from ­working together on the movie Maati Maay (2006),the two have been associated with queer causes. “Das talks in the book about how her interactions with lesbian and transgender communities after the ­controversy over her film Fire expanded her own sensitivity and humanity,” adds Hajratwala. The book is expected to come out in July. Apart from selling it on her website,Kumar is in talks with distributors to retail it at bookstores.

With Out! comes a moment of epiphany for Kumar. A decade since she made India home,she has found her true calling. Kumar,whose forefathers had immigrated from India in 1905,was born and brought up in Fiji. When she turned 18,she moved to Australia where she worked as a counsellor to refugees and asylum-seekers. She then moved to the US in 2000 to study spirituality in order to improve her counselling therapy. On her way back to Australia after completing the course,she stopped in Mumbai for a vacation following an invitation from her partner. Till that time,they had only interacted online. “One glance at the airport,and I made Mumbai my home,” says Kumar,who has been living in the city for a decade now. During her early days in Mumbai,Kumar worked in the development sector. However,when Humsafar Trust,a Mumbai-based NGO,asked her to counsel lesbians and bisexual women,she stepped in. She still counsels,but the business of books has become the primary occupation of this self-proclaimed “social entrepreneur”.

After becoming popular as a destination to buy books on queer subjects,the focus of Queer Ink has now shifted to generating Indian writings on the LGBT community. Indian readers often don’t identify with a foreign situation or community. Even though Indian publishing houses have started bringing out queer writings,the number remains small. “In the last six months,only three such books — Close,Too Close: The Tranquebar Book of Queer Erotica (edited by Meenu and Shruti),My Magic Palace by Kunal Mukherjee and Travails of Entrapment by Himadri Roy — have come out. But we need to increase the frequency of publishing books on sexuality and gender issues,” she says. This was one of the reasons that made her turn to publishing. Anther reason was the slowing down of Queer Ink’s sale. “Most book collectors and readers have already procured all the copies they wanted. So,we need to introduce new books,” says Kumar,who is currently helping a Baroda-based NGO set up a library of books on queer issues.

Besides Out!,Queer Ink has more books lined up for printing,even as its website invites manuscript submissions. Among the upcoming books are two non-fiction books and four Marathi books of true stories — Anthology of True Stories of LGBT,Anthology of True Stories of Parents of LGBT,Anthology of True Stories of Transgenders and Anthology of True Stories of Intersex Community. The Marathi books have been edited by Bindumadhav Khire. “Unfortunately,there is little queer literature in local languages and that needs to be addressed,” says Khire.

Through Queer Ink,Kumar has also been trying to bring queer culture closer to the mainstream. With June being the international LGBT pride month,she has been holding a “Queer Ink Cultural Festival”,which is drawing both queer and straight people to participate in workshops and interactions related to art,dance,music and writing at their office hall,the walls of which are painted purple,the doors bright blue and the fans in rainbow colours.