At night, like a lot of homosexuals, he went into the streets. His objects of eroticism were essentially cycle rickshawwallahs who always have an “easy side” to them. It is, of course, the same in all major cities in India; the night drivers of taxis, rickshaws and even buses are forever looking for ‘mazaa and masti’, as homosexual sex is called.
In Professor’s case this was known to other gay men on the AMU campus. It is surprising how common ‘mazaa aur masti’ is in those parts. Mothers openly frighten their boys saying they would be “handed to the Mullahji”, if they don’t behave. Friends fool around and then plead with dosts to stop their ‘homogiri’. The words for gay men can be either positive ‘Gud’ (jaggery) or the derisive “G@#$du”. Aligarh Muslim University and Banaras Hindu University may be two ends of the communal spectrum in India but what they have in common is their turbulent, tenacious homosexual subcultures.