Being Gay in India could mean different thing to different people. Being gay is never the same for any two persons, and the experiences and reactions vary from place to place, people to people, and culture to culture. India being a place of all kinds of diversity, that is still “coming to terms” with an “openly gay” culture or people, we thought it would be very interesting to note what our readers feel about the same. And we received an equally diverse set of entries, spanning a wide range of topics. It has been really difficult for us to select the top 3. So, we came up with the idea to let you choose the top 3, which would then be published in the Jul-Aug issue of Gaylaxy. We have shortlisted six entries, and now you can “vote” for them by commenting below each of these entries or “liking” them with the Facebook like button. Those with the maximum comments and likes will be published in the next issue of Gaylaxy.
Here is a brief overview of all the selected entries.
A Straight Perspective by Anubha Bhat – Anubha talks about an incident where to avail of an offer at an ice-cream parlour for couples, she decided to pair up with her friend and act as a lesbian couple. The denial of the offer by the parlour on the definition that couples mean a man and woman, led her through a series of emotions. Read Here
Gay @ NIT by Nipun Arora – Nipun is a student at one of the premier Engineering colleges of India. Unable to bear the suffocation of closet and determined to start a discourse among his peers and help others suffering silently in his college, he penned down this piece that appeared in the newsletter of his college. Read Here
No Closets to Live In by Falling Tree – Love can happen anywhere, anytime, and you don’t have to label it as gay or lesbian love. “To find your soul mate is easiest in comparison to find anything else in this life. The eyes just meet and you know that your life will change soon,” she says. Read Here
The Comfort Closet! by Harshmir Pangli – Closet is suffocating and not comforting and coming out to your own self is the most difficult part writes Harshmir. “Being gay doesn’t mean that you have to do every single thing opposite to the staight guys, yet it doesn’t mean that you’ll behave exactly the same way they do. Its not the question of right or wrong, good or bad, ethical or unacceptable. It’s just being different from the majority; living it & loving it,” he tells. Read Here
Is monogamy the word? by Vivek – Lack of social acceptance of gay relations may make a one-night stand look tempting and the easier way out, but despite all the difficulties, hope is what keeps Vivek going. Read Here
Time for Change! by Avijit Kundu – A personal narrative by Avijit Kundu, a Queer-Rights Activist- where he gives a brief account of the changing viewpoints of his Salt Lake School buddies of ISC’97 batch on the issue of homosexuality over a period of 15 years. Read Here