A queer guide to a Valentine’s eve in Chennai

If you have gone clubbing in Chennai, you are familiar with the ‘couple entry’ rules. As Valentine’s day approaches, we explore how the hospitality industry is slowly responding to members of the LGBTQIA+ community and updating their definitions of a couple

The run-up to Valentine’s day in Chennai already has bars and restaurants in a tizzy. Red balloons are being mounted on the walls of clubs, promotions are being announced, roses are being pruned.

The day however has not been easy for members of the queer community to celebrate. About 10 years ago around the same time, Chennai-based fashion choreographer Karun Raman says that he was physically assaulted at a club in the city, for his sexuality.

“Today however, I can see a 50-50 change. Some places are more accepting of the queer community than others. I can now enter a club with a gajra (flowers) in my hair. That wasn’t possible before,” he says.

This incident is not isolated. Several other interviewees also recount instances of their personal boundaries being regularly violated while stepping out for a drink with friends or while being out on a date. While Chennai’s bars and clubs still struggle with understanding ‘couple entry’ outside of its heteronormative definition, we speak to representatives from hotels and restaurants who tell us how they have made their spaces inclusive to members of the queer community.

At the Social chain of bars, which has an outlet in Chennai’s Express Avenue mall, the staff undergoes regular and expansive inclusivity training to accommodate same-gendered couples, members of the LGBTQIA+ communities and disabled people.

Pearl Daruwalla, manager, Diversity and Inclusion at Impresario Handmade Restaurants which runs the chain of bars across India, says that besides training for staff at their corporate offices, on-ground training for staff through sensitisation and awareness has helped create a brand that is inclusive.

“We have also educated our staff about entry policies regarding same-gendered couples as we accommodate people from across the spectrum,” she says.