Rao and Sarma's work is an invaluable addition to resources on gay issues in India. -- BWbooks.in The text is a must-read for all those who wish to engage with stories of homosexual male lives in urban and semi-urban settings in modern India. It is essential for those engaged in public advocacy around issues of sexuality, to learn through lived stories about the existing paradigm and the political struggles that lie ahead of us. -- Biblio The authors] have done a remarkable job. The narratives maintain a certain dignity throughout. Each is a story. The entire gamut of issues is covered, from gay activism and gay culture to police atrocities and health issues. -- Civil Society The book would be a must have for gay activists and organisations working in the fields of sexuality studies, feminism and alternative literature but at the same time, it has a much wider appeal than just those... Not just a dry-as dust series of interviews, these are real-life stories of real people, living all around us, yet feeling separate from the mainstream...This book gives them a voice. -- The Tribune Rao and Sarma, both academics as well as novelists, balance the narratives in this book between private, individual stories and their wider context with poise and sensitivity. By turns stark and wry, emotional and enlightening, Whistling in the Dark serves as more than just an academic addition to the cannon of sub-continental queer studies. -- Verve A new book contains candid interviews with 21 queer people. It's almost as good as hearing their stories first-hand... Each interview in Whistling in the Dark reads like tete-a-tete between friends, with Rao and Sarma posing questions to queer people from all walks of life. They chat about sex, love, homophobic violence in public spaces and within families, as well as struggle to negotiate ethnic and gender identities...The rest of the book just leaves readers to engage in a variety of conversations with queer people who bring a very wide range of experiences to the table. -- Time Out The chronicles in the collection reveal the tragedies and minor triumphs of a people who are the inhabitants of a cruel unequal world. -- The Telegraph
Read less