Long Live Queer Nightlife by Amin Ghaziani;

Author:Amin Ghaziani;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2023-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

HungamaIn a Converted Warehouse

One day at a midweek pub gathering after work, a new friend turned to me, somewhat out of the blue, and excitedly asked, “You’re South Asian and queer?”

“Yes,” I stammered in reply, startled by the sudden question.

And then, with even more thrill, they added, “What are you doing Saturday night?” I didn’t know it then, in that frenzied moment, but the invitation would change how I experienced and thought about nightlife.

Saturday night came quickly. We took the train east from Covent Garden to Hackney Wick, nearly an hour’s ride with transfers, and then walked for another while longer by a row of dimly lit, almost-derelict looking structures. My friend pointed ahead to a door that looked to me like every other door we had just passed, leading into a building that again looked to my naïve eyes like every other building. “This is crack capitalism,” I thought as we finally arrived and walked inside The Yard Theater, a late-night music venue in a converted warehouse that provides space for new ideas and new stories.

The room was large, but still, I felt immediately embraced by it. In front of the DJ booth, projected on a bare white wall, were clips of classic Bollywood videos. I recognized them instantly—Devdas, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Khabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham—and my heart tugged with the sweetest nostalgia at the sight and sounds. The film projections, animated by a choreography of lasers, illuminated a full dance floor. But even that dance floor was unlike any other I had been on before. There were turbans and spangled saris. And bindis. So many sequined bindis!

Scenes from Hungama, where “fierce” is always fashion-forward.

Image courtesy of Hungama (@hungama_ldn).

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