I was at a queer get-together a few months ago. A boy asked me, “Have you been to a beach sex party? Do you want to come with us?” Group sex or private orgies have been a very common phenomenon in the Indian gay culture. The advent of the internet and dating/hook-up apps have only made it easier. And no city is exempt, from Mumbai and Delhi to tier two spots like Dehradun, Pune and Jaipur.

This July, we’re heating things up with Sex-Rated: The VICE Guide to Sex in India . Come with us as we dive deep into Indian sexuality, as well as cherry-pick some of the best videos and stories about sex from VICE around the world. Read more here .

The guys at the makeshift reception smiled, took my cover charge, and ushered me to my room. On the way, I saw a terrace area set up for dinner with a dance floor draped with UV lights and a massive sound system.

The location was a faraway beach resort located in a Mumbai suburb. I took the local train and then an auto rickshaw that dropped me off at the end of a narrow lane, where I walked a bit to reach a small gated beachfront house with 15 small rooms spread across two floors. My first thought was to calculate all the possible risks and my safety. I had seen a police chowky five minutes before reaching there and I had noted their number. I felt fairly prepared.

On the day of the party, I got a confirmation and the exact location of the party at 6 PM. It would begin at 7 PM sharp and wrap up by 1 PM the next day. Besides gay and trans guests, the main attraction would be crossdressers. “They steal the show!” quoted my source Vinod *, who was also one of the organisers.

I followed up with them for the next three months. There wasn’t any party being organised for a long time. It was strange. Usually, there’s one organised every month or two, or so I was told. Until one bright morning, I got a WhatsApp message with details about the next gathering.

I was pretty oblivious to this secret sex party scene. I always wanted to visit one so I instantly agreed. Our host added, “There’s crossdressing, dance performances, traditional food, games and a pool party, all in one night! You will get to see me in drag.”

I took a seat near the dining area. A group of elderly cis married men were already there, making their drinks. They were joking about marriage with boys who were going through that phase. I could also see some of the ground floor room doors open where boys were transforming themselves into gorgeous women.

At 9 PM, the music started playing. The boys were still getting ready. The theme for the night was ‘Eid Celebrations’ and some boys had decided to wear beautiful embroidered kurtas, along with fragrant attar. The organiser applied some on me too.

Within a few seconds, I realised that the tiny resort was packed with men. I checked my phone, it was just 7.30 PM. “Most of the people haven’t even started arriving yet,” said my roommate. He was among a group of boys from Gujarat who had travelled specially for the party. “Gujarat is a very dry state. Access to liquor is strenuous. There’s not a very open sex party culture among the gay community there. Some groups exist, but their doors aren’t open for everyone like here. I like this better. People are open and friendly. I get a lot of choice and freedom,” said another guy, as he applied some kohl on his eyelashes. Later that night, I learned that people have travelled from Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

The walk to my room was a really long one through dark and noisy corridors. I could already see condom wrappers that had been flung out of open windows. My room, overlooking a beautiful beach, already had a few boys. We shook hands and started on the small talk.

As they began coming out in public, I could make out a sense of insecurity on their face. They were constantly looking into their phone screen, checking if their make-up was alright. I overheard them comparing their fake breasts animatedly.

“I didn’t like crossdressers in the past. I was scared and ignorant of their personality and considered them gross. However, these parties really exposed me to them and their culture and I must say that I admire them and treat them as my friends today,” said Sumeet *, a 38-year-old bisexual man who had been coming to these parties for the past few years. Through him I learned, gay men can perpetuate unhealthy stereotypes too, replicating patriarchal structures, shunning crossdressers from the community. Ironically, boys who expressed concerns with drag queens earlier were seen dancing together blithely later.

We stopped the music for dinner. It was followed by a round of eating the most popular delicacy of Eid, sheer kurma. It was the sweetest gesture of the night, and my first sheer kurma for Eid this year. The dinner break was short, and very quickly everybody was back on the dance floor, with frenzied moments interspersed with special Kathak and belly dance performances.