Ranvijay* leaned across the table to his friend and said, “Bro, ab se three-piece suit hi lena padega, bro. Crazy lag raha hai Jeetesh* par! The fitting looks amazing, just look at his biceps, upper body and the V-cut!” (Bro, let’s only buy three-piece suits from now on, it looks great on Jeetesh! The fitting looks amazing, just look at his biceps, upper body and the V-cut!) The Jeetesh in question here is the newly-wed man and Ranvijay plus his friend are guests at the former’s wedding. The suit appreciation went on all night and other people at the table couldn’t roll their eyes further than the back of their skulls.

When you’re out on the streets of India, no matter which part, you’ll see men casually hold hands in a way that anyone would mistake them to be an intimate gesture. This is so common that even the travel hand guide Lonely Planet mentions to tourists not to mistake those situations for homosexuality.

A recent study said that men are more open about their feelings to their male friends than their partners, therefore killing their relationship with the latter. They also happen to gossip more than their female counterparts.

These instances leads us to question if the Indian version of bro-hood or bromance is really, really gay. This comes across, in no way, as an attack at the LGBT community but even they must wonder why their straight male friends are overtly expressive in a manner that is unneccessary. Bromance is actually recommended as it helps to tone down the toxic masculinity problem we have been facing for the longest time now, a recent research claimed.

You could be complimenting your best mate and not his anatomy while describing what he’s wearing.  You could be walking down the streets holding hands, although this is barely gay. However, sauntering as you walk with your male friend hand in hand is something that can be misunderstood and you would have to explain yourself if someone ask, “Aw, man! How long have you been together?” You could try communicating with your partner rather than talk about your feelings with your friends. 

But at the end of the day, the query still lingers, despite it’s many advantages: What’s up with Indian bromance?