I said I liked challenges--that I liked things that are out of the ordinary. My so-called Queer Life was such a collection of shorts. These shorts were out of the ordinary to me, but for many amongst us, this is everyday life. Barefeet was directed by Sonali Gulati. Using poetic words and mesmerizing images, a story was narrated that spoke of going home. Yet going home was not really going home because the narrator had to leave a part of herself behind--her lesbian identity. Though she was thrilled to be able to express her Indianness openly in India (something she couldn't do in America all the time), the main character had to acknowledge that she was also leaving home by leaving America because here she could be true to her sexuality--something she couldn't do in India. In fact, gay and lesbian sexuality is somewhat tolerated in Indian society. It is, as Clinton discovered, a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of a world. Ariana, directed by Michael Sandoval and Shashi Balooja, dealt with the tension created in the home of a Dr. Abbas Immad when he brings his male lover home. The grandmother he takes care of becomes a source of division between the two. But a source of division can also become a source of unity... Mukul Khurana