"It is a rather melancholy tale, in which the sky is always grey and the mood is always despondent, where secrecy and shame are the prevailing emotions, and violence is never far away. As gay men in pre-2018 India, Neville and Pavan exist in an in-between world. There are dating apps and hookups galore, but there is also open hostility and the threat of prosecution."
"Aside from being trapped in a hotel together, though, Neville and Pavan do not seem to have much in common. They come from very different backgrounds. Neville is a workshy college student from a well-heeled Catholic Brahmin family; Pavan is an industrious hospitality worker who has done well to escape his humble beginnings and abusive father. Neville is careless and promiscuous (darting wherever he could to seek his pleasures), while Pavan is shy and uptight (a figure only half in the light)."
The narrative follows Neville and Pavan across years leading up to India’s 2018 decriminalisation of homosexuality, alternating perspectives and split between Darjeeling (2014) and Mumbai (2018). A landslide traps them together at a subpar hill hotel, prompting a furtive romance against a backdrop of secrecy, shame, and the constant threat of hostility or prosecution. Neville is a careless, promiscuous, well-off college student; Pavan is a hardworking hospitality employee who escaped an abusive childhood. Differences of race, class, age, and experience shape their bond. The mood remains bleak, while wry humour and sharp satire temper the tone.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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