“In 1969, the recording company HMV asked Mina Kava and the Music Makers to write a song about the city in which he lived…Like all the songs he made in English, the lyrics had been written by his formidable wife Naju and carried a whiff of Edwardian innocence about them…It was called Evening in Gay Maharashtra.” – Naresh Fernandes, Taj Mahal Foxtrot. You know? From Back in the day when Gay meant Carefree? Not Criminal? According to Naresh Fernandes, this recording was also often played at Gay Bombay meetings back in the day. Just like it should be. Produced by Suguna Sridhar, Zachary Bushnell, Virendra Gaud, this old gem has now been re-created and taken back to carefree with a single take video. According to the folks who made it, “This live music video was shot at the Bandra Base in Mumbai in July, 2013 as a single take performance with no edits. The musicians, cinematographer, lights, sound and stage crew all worked in unison to experiment with the single take as a form.” With the lone message of Equal Rights and Dignity For All, Watch Suman Sridhar and Crew take the stage with a number that goes a lil summin summin like “Yes our ladies, they are gay and so romantic. When you’re down in Maharashtra.” So ladies, I’ll be down from Chennai singing Mumbai Amchi Re, Amchi Amchi Mumbai Re very soon …Perhaps, we’d like an Evening In Gay Maharashtra?

Evening in Gay Maharashtra from Suman Sridhar on Vimeo.   PS. If you’d like to hear the version from the 70’s – Jump Through here.