To(i) Let

To(i) Let

The Boyfriend saga continues...

The other day, I went to see a movie at Eros, and in the intermission decided to take a leak. Of course, as it turned out, half the male populace of the hall also decided the same, so the loo was quite 'housefull'. Rows of occupied urinals, each with candidate no 2 standing right behind the incumbent, and no 3 and no 4 and...

R Raj Rao's novel begins with the Churchgate loo, and he shows how the place is a hornet's nest for gay men in Mumbai. Personally, I've been to that particular loo a couple of times, but have not seen any of the frenetic activity that Rao describes. (Of course, I admit that I was once molested on a train by an old man who hissed that I should follow him to the Churchgate loo, but I was understandably not inspired enough.)

So, WTF is it about loos and gay sex?! Personally, I feel queasy in crowded loos, and even more so if there are no partitions. One Friday night, some friends and I had gone to Polly Esthers, and after a coupla hours of dancing, I went to pay heed to the call of nature. The loo was tiny! And crowded! No, packed!!! Picture two urinals set close to each other, no divisions, and a line of well dressed and hunky men standing behind each of them, quite close to each other! True, it was one of those scenarios that develop into a full-blown orgy if you're an avid watcher of gay porn, but though I smirked at the thought, I felt thoroughly uncomfortable while peeing there! It took a whole lot of bloody effort to do it, knowing that both the guy standing behind me and next to me, could probably see my dick.

In a word: yuck!

But of course, I'm gay. And I was young once (!) upon a time. So, yes, I have cruised in a loo, once upon a time. But there are qualifications to be made here, against Rao's sordid drama of toilet sex:
(a) my loos were always empty, save for the object of my attentions, and
(b) I've outgrown that phase, while Rao's 40-odd year old protagonist still seems hell-bent on going the George Michael way.