Elska Magazine Presents the Men of Mumbai (Photos)

Elska Magazine, an up-and-coming queer indie mag that dedicates each issue to a different city, has put the spotlight on Mumbai, India’s largest city, for its latest adventure. Inside are photo spreads of 15 men, shot in the streets and in their homes, along with accompanying stories written by the guys themselves. These personal stories along with a naturalistic photographic style lets readers get to know each of the men intimately and provides unique cultural insight about the city and its LGBT life.

Says Elska's founder, chief photographer, and editor Liam Campbell: “After we did our first issue in Asia, in Taipei, we realised how invisible Asian men are in the media, and in gay media especially. We then noticed that South Asian men are even less visible, so it seemed an obvious choice to make an issue in India. However, despite its consolidated democracy and economic boom, [the] society still is very conservative. So even with a population of 20 million, finding guys willing to take part wasn’t easy at first." 

Elska’s Mumbai issue is its largest yet at 168 pages. A launch party and talk with two of Elska’s team will take place on March 9 at the LGBT Center in New York. Free posters will be given to people who buy the issue on the night, and part of the proceeds will go to the Bureau of General Services — Queer Division. Details of the event can be found here. 

Liam has a worthwhile product that is both uplifting and pretty sexy. For more information, check out their website, Facebook, Instagram, and for the more adventurous try Tumblr.