It’s the pink economy, stupid

“Starting Azaad Bazaar was not about becoming a queer celebrity. Such ‘celebrities’ just end up being a punch-line,” says Simran.
Minutes into a conversation with Simran and Sabina, owners of Azaad Bazaar (AzBaz), they’ve already impressed the fact that they mean business.

The store is housed in the garage of a Bandra building — it doesn’t really stand out. A quick Google search throws up only a few reviews and the odd piece about AzBaz being a part of the queer community. Even photographs of the store are a rare find, unless you follow their Facebook page.

Clearly, the duo is very conservative when it comes to press coverage, but it’s not because they want to hide their sexual identities.

Both Simran and Sabina have come out to friends and family and are strong voices in the city’s queer movement. Their emphasis has always been on promoting AzBaz.

The store also doubles up as a coffee-shop. There’s a section marked out by egg-crates where people hang out, sipping cups of chai or coffee while chatting.

There is no pressure to interact, there is no one hurrying you, there are no adult or embarrassing products. “We have had a lot of people come in with their parents, and they usually come up to us with an awkward ‘Hello’ but often end up in conversations ranging from the polite (‘So, how is the store doing’) to the personal, about how they felt when their child came out to them,” Sabina adds.

The store, set up in 2009, hosts book readings, film screenings and community meetings. “When we were younger, the community was not so accessible,” adds Sabina.

AzBaz, for them, was a hobby that turned serious. It started with their Jailbird brand of t-shirts, whose popularity soon spread beyond friends and family.

Their first week of operations was crazy. What took them by surprise was that local shoppers started to walk in. “Once we explained the concept of the store to them, we got a variety of reactions that ranged from the evolved, (‘You mean there is only one store like this in India?’) to the very excited (‘Oh, I have to tell my gay best friend about this!’)

‘The most powerful politics is the politics of economics.’ This sign on the door of the shop aptly sums up how the owners feel about their business.

“Today, a lot more people have made the store their own. This is not just about retail — it’s about understanding the concept of the store,” say the duo.

The pink rupee, the spending power of the queer community and their ability to impact the economy, is not strictly what fuels the store.

However, the owners believe in its ability to effect social change. Sabina clarifies that the pink rupee is not about using force. “It’s about spending money on people and companies whose actions we like.”