Needless to say, sex and sexuality is still a taboo subject in our society. It's that one thing that most humans do, but talking about it in public still feels awkward. Despite the shroud of shame and mystery around this rarely-talked about issue, visits to porn websites witnessed a 95% rise in India during the first phase of the lockdown. Not only that, the sale of sex toys in India saw a 65% rise post lockdown phase.

However, despite the rising demand, only a handful of digital store and shady shops sell sex toys and wellness products. All that is set to change now because one shop in Goa has smashed the taboo to become India's first legal sex toy shop cum wellness products store and dared to do what no one else has done before!

Yes! Launched last month, Kama Gizmos has become India's first official brick-and-mortar sex shop, Vice.com reported. The store which is located along the Calangute stretch, sells a wide variety of sex toys, unique condoms, sprays, gels, vibrators and pumps to harnesses, packers and more. And thankfully, the shop isn't designed like some dimly-lit kinky dungeon but is well-lit and looks more like a medical store. There is absolutely no nudity and no obscenity of any kind around it.

Some of the store's bestsellers include BDSM sets, marshmallow-flavoured, glow-in-the-dark and vegan condoms, cock rings, vibrators and role play costumes, according to Vice Media representatives who visited the store.

Talking about the design, Nirav Mehta, the co-founder of the shop said, ''We have purposely not made it flashy or like a dark underground dungeon, which is how most shops like this abroad are. We have modelled it like a medical store, while all our certificates are on the wall. We do this to avoid any political backlash."



Notably, it's because of India's strict obscenity laws in India that have made it nearly impossible for legit sex shops to operate. "This law is in the grey space, but essentially, you can sell any product as long as it is not obscene. We purposely chose toys and products with packaging that did not have nudity or show women in a demeaning manner, so it does not violate any obscenity laws," said Mehta.

The store owners are planning to expand and stock up on more unique products for their customers. Hopefully, this will spark more conversations around sexual health and wellness!