When first approached, the administrator of the Bangalore Polycules group was initially completely against any interaction at all. After much persuasion, the person agreed and asked for a questionnaire to be sent in the survey format, which could be shared with the group. As the administrator explained: “That way, you will get anonymous responses from whoever is interested.” The ones who eventually responded were about 24 members. The group refused to disclose their membership numbers and fobbed off all attempts at direct communications. As the administrator said, “Some of us lead more closeted lives than others. If I’m being guarded, it is for good reason.”
But they did send feelers to members to ask who would be interested in talking face to face. Basit Manham was the only one who decided to meet personally for an interview. When asked how he wanted to be named in the article — by first name only or by a pseudonym — he shrugged his shoulders and said he was okay with anyone knowing about him. “In fact, I will give you my picture too,” he said. And that was one of the few times that line did not sound publicity crazy. Manham sounded earnest and determined to lead a life free of deceptions. Wouldn’t it alienate him further from his family? “They are still reeling from the shock that I am not practising my religion,” he said. “This will not even register.”
