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By Root 2174 0

Desai Rd., Breach Candy; 022/2353-8418), a small, popular, and totally unpretentious hangout near the Mahalaxmi Temple. While it’s no dive, the place in some respects lives up to its name—a slightly dingy entrance, graffiti on the walls, and a complete lack of dress code—which is probably why the regulars (collegians and after-workers rub shoulders with graying hippies, all of whom still salute Bob Marley and Jim Morrison) are so uncompromisingly devoted to this place. That, and the fact that the music remains strictly “rock ’n’ reggae” (there’s a band from time to time, too; entry free). You can even dance if you want to. For a similar vibe—and a more varied, sometimes hard-core soundtrack—in Bandra, consider paying tribute to the ever-popular Toto’s Garage (30 Lourdes Heaven, Pali Junction; 022/2600-5494), where the main attraction, apart from the music, is the shell of a car hanging from the ceiling over patrons’ heads.

Gay Bombay

Mumbai is considered the most accepting and cosmopolitan of India’s cities, with openly gay Bollywood and TV stars, and plenty of socially connected people with armloads of gay friends. Much of that has to do with the fact that, as a big, bustling city on the move, Mumbai has always been less fussy about the private lives of its citizens—and it’s only the gossip columns that waste too much time speculating about who’s sleeping with whom. Still, the public gay scene is a remarkably small one, restricted to weekly club nights, private gatherings, and a few organizations furthering the human rights cause. There are no dedicated gay clubs or bars (not officially anyway), and most gay circles tend towards private get-togethers; with homosexuality unbanned as recently as mid-2009, there hasn’t before been much scope to transform the scene into anything substantial—and there are still enough people here living in the shadow of strict family traditions and religious piety (at least in public). Now that India is finally out of the closet, and homosexuality no longer outlawed, there’s likely to be a bit more of a scene happening in Mumbai. For the time being, there are only a small handful of places where you can expect any regular gay parties. In Colaba, Voodoo (Arthur Bunder Rd., off Colaba Causeway; 020/2284-1959) has a weekly gay night on Saturdays (Rs 250), but it’s terribly seedy, far too cramped, and frequented by many of the wrong kinds of people, not to mention prostitutes. Then again, some find this sort of sleaze works just fine (but keep well away from the toilets). A much better option is to check out what’s been lined up by the city’s two main LGBT organizations. Salvation Star (www.salvationstar.com) is the more interesting (and fresher) group that caters to a discernibly with-it crowd and ensures a steady supply of up-to-date beats spun at parties held in a regular club venue. Gaybombay (www.gaybombay.org) has been around for long enough to have established a fairly loyal following; the parties are quite well subscribed, and music treads a fine balance between decent Bollywood tracks and pure cheese. Still, that’s what draws the crowds, and both gay men and lesbians do show up, so put on your saffron-colored tutu and your dancing shoes and go join them. A warning, though: Don’t fall for scamsters who make a trade out of hustling gay men and then threatening to expose or blackmail them.

NIGHTCLUBS

While you could spend your entire stay in Mumbai partying in a different club each night and recovering the following day in your hotel room—this is one Indian city that loves to party—be aware that the nightclub scene is not concentrated on a single street, and most clubs close earlier than in the West. Mumbai’s partying has also been tempered by the government’s early closing rule. Although Western music is popular and has the buff and the gorgeous strutting their stuff every night of the week, Mumbaikars (thankfully) have a deep passion for contemporary Hindi songs as well, and it’s not unusual to spot young studs demonstrating the choreographed rhythms of MTV India’s latest Bollywood video,