Hoshang Merchant
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199465965
- eISBN:
- 9780199086962
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199465965.003.0019
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
Before we discuss sexuality in the Indian context, we have to define Indian terms for homosexuality that can be used in the international discourse. Most of these words are abuses or derogatory but ...
More
Before we discuss sexuality in the Indian context, we have to define Indian terms for homosexuality that can be used in the international discourse. Most of these words are abuses or derogatory but just like the word ‘queer’ or ‘black’ in the West, these old words are used proudly by India’s liberated gays to gain self-respect. This section introduces the words yaraana, ardhanarishwar, koti/panti, hijra, laundébaaz, and positions them in modern queer narratives.Less
Before we discuss sexuality in the Indian context, we have to define Indian terms for homosexuality that can be used in the international discourse. Most of these words are abuses or derogatory but just like the word ‘queer’ or ‘black’ in the West, these old words are used proudly by India’s liberated gays to gain self-respect. This section introduces the words yaraana, ardhanarishwar, koti/panti, hijra, laundébaaz, and positions them in modern queer narratives.
Hoshang Merchant
Akshaya K. Rath (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199465965
- eISBN:
- 9780199086962
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199465965.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
Never a shrinking violet, Hoshang Merchant came out of the closet early in his youth. A bard, a teacher, and a lover who has lived many lives, he is the quintessential gay who once cross-dressed, and ...
More
Never a shrinking violet, Hoshang Merchant came out of the closet early in his youth. A bard, a teacher, and a lover who has lived many lives, he is the quintessential gay who once cross-dressed, and yet defies gender categorization. In Secret Writings, he recounts his extraordinary life and splendid experiences ranging across countries and cultures. His is a story of the prejudice and neglect that are part of everyday gay life, and how he channelled his despair into creating poetry. He quotes Rumi, Ghalib, and Mir, and writes with searing honesty about his long and short love affairs, his ‘improbable’ sex life as both an initiator and a yielding partner, and his inner turmoil. Sex becomes love and love becomes poetry in his writing. Secret Writings covers topics such as literature, Hoshang’s autobiography, queer writing, and matriarchy in over a dozen essays. Life and writing are one and they possess a structure. Hence, the first section of this book deals with literature. The die is cast here. The catechism on writing follows. The tone is deliberately religious to combat the irreligious age. The Divine World comes from infernal living and the section ‘Autobiography’ begins. The seeds of personality sown in a fractious home resulted in the Man of Extremes in the ‘Autobiography’. The section on sexuality follows. Sex and spirit are fused in art. It is only by way of the first three that the last station ‘Matriarchy’ can be reached. The nun and the prostitute have become the poet.Less
Never a shrinking violet, Hoshang Merchant came out of the closet early in his youth. A bard, a teacher, and a lover who has lived many lives, he is the quintessential gay who once cross-dressed, and yet defies gender categorization. In Secret Writings, he recounts his extraordinary life and splendid experiences ranging across countries and cultures. His is a story of the prejudice and neglect that are part of everyday gay life, and how he channelled his despair into creating poetry. He quotes Rumi, Ghalib, and Mir, and writes with searing honesty about his long and short love affairs, his ‘improbable’ sex life as both an initiator and a yielding partner, and his inner turmoil. Sex becomes love and love becomes poetry in his writing. Secret Writings covers topics such as literature, Hoshang’s autobiography, queer writing, and matriarchy in over a dozen essays. Life and writing are one and they possess a structure. Hence, the first section of this book deals with literature. The die is cast here. The catechism on writing follows. The tone is deliberately religious to combat the irreligious age. The Divine World comes from infernal living and the section ‘Autobiography’ begins. The seeds of personality sown in a fractious home resulted in the Man of Extremes in the ‘Autobiography’. The section on sexuality follows. Sex and spirit are fused in art. It is only by way of the first three that the last station ‘Matriarchy’ can be reached. The nun and the prostitute have become the poet.
