MASALA Mela gets political

Originally this year's Massachusetts Area South Asian Lambda Association (MASALA) Mela, an annual party celebrating the local South Asian LGBT community, was conceived as purely a night of dancing, socializing, performances and tasty food, as it has been in the previous four years that the event has been held at Machine nightclub. But Amit Dixit, a MASALA steering committee member, said in the past few weeks the committee decided that this year's event would be more overtly political, in response to the conflict taking place in India over whether or not to abolish Penal Code Section 377, which criminalizes homosexual acts and provides for up to a lifetime of imprisonment for offenders. India's high court is currently considering a petition brought by a group of non-governmental organizations urging that Section 377 be struck down. The Mela will be held Oct. 11 at Machine.

"What we're going to do is we're going to have a petition. We're personally inviting everyone to come and sign," said Dixit. "Mela's turned into something entirely different because we want to fight this and show solidarity with the people back in India fighting this."

Dixit said following the event he will travel to New York and present the petition against Section 377 to the Consulate General of India. He said MASALA hopes to send the message that LGBT people of Indian descent living in the United States and their allies strongly support decriminalizing homosexuality.

"[We hope] to be able to do our small part and be able to show them back in the homeland, we support you," said Dixit.

This year's Mela may be more politicized than in the past, but first and foremost it is still a celebration. Dixit said DJ Kris will be spinning Bollywood tunes throughout the evening, and a video screen will show performances by some of Bollywood's greatest divas and gay icons, intermixed with footage of performances from last year's Mela. In addition to the music and dancing, there will also be drinks and a buffet of snacks.

The MASALA Mela takes place Oct. 11 at Machine from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and can be ordered by e-mailing [email protected], or $25 at the door, with discounted $15 tickets for current students. The event is 21+.