by Vani Viswanathan
[box]On January 28, 2012, Mumbai celebrated its fourth Queer Azadi March. Vani Viswanathan attended with her camera in tow and attempted to capture the pride, joy and humanity among a sadly-rejected minority in India.[/box]The Queer Azadi March is a space for the queer population – homosexuals, transgenders, transvestites, hijras, intersex – to come together to mark their stake in the world as rightful citizens deserving of respect and equal rights and opportunities.
I have met many homosexuals in my years overseas – many of whom became close friends and people I respect immensely – and I had always thought they had it easy overseas, for they could flaunt their sexuality openly, at least in the industry I worked and moved in, but I knew the situation in India would be a very different matter. I frankly didn’t know . So I didn’t need much convincing to be part of the fourth Queer Azadi March in Mumbai.
My first ever time witnessing such a march, I couldn’t pass the opportunity to lug my camera along to capture the myriad emotions on display. But I could not have been prepared for what I eventually saw – and felt – a resounding sense of pride, no matter what one’s identity; solidarity, despite seeing your fellow humans being wronged, and most of all, a large group of people different from the society’s norms but who showed that they are no different at all – they were humans too, they functioned similarly, they too felt love, happiness, despair, like anyone else. After all, when God created them, he didn’t think of adding something different to the mix, did he? The following photos will, I hope, demonstrate at least a fraction of the infectious enthusiasm I saw that sunny evening in Mumbai.
The Pride Flag that swallowed us – we marched in its shade, flaunting its colours, revelling in its meaning: for if a society can’t accept diversity, what will it progress to?
Towards equality, ahoy! The March begins.
The leads of the Pride March – unafraid to flaunt their feelings, sexuality, pride…
… for if Dumbledore did it, it can’t be wrong, can it?
So shout with us: ‘I’m gay – it’s OK! I’m lesbian – it’s OK! I’m a hijra – it’s OK!’
Let your hair down…
Share a hug…
… and revel in who you are!
Vani Viswanathan is often lost in her world of books and A R Rahman, churning out lines in her head or humming a song. Her world is one of frivolity, optimism, quietude and general chilled-ness, where there is always place for outbursts of laughter, bouts of silence, chocolate, ice cream and lots of books and endless iTunes playlists from all over the world. Vani was a Public Relations consultant in Singapore and decided enough is enough with the struggle to find veggie food everyday, and returned to India after seven long years away. Vani blogs at http://chennaigalwrites.blogspot.com
[box type=”download”] If you have trouble opening the PDF, please right click on the button and select ‘Save Link As/Save Target As’. This will help save the PDF to your computer. If you still have trouble, drop us a mail at editors@sparkthemagazine.com and we will mail you the PDF straight to your inbox! DON’T MISS THE PDF EXPERIENCE![/box] [button link=”http://www.sparkthemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/spark-feb-2012.pdf” newwindow=”yes”] Click here to download the Feb 2012 issue as a PDF![/button] [button link=”http://issuu.com/sparkeditor/docs/spark-feb-2012?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fcolor%2Flayout.xml&backgroundColor=000000&showFlipBtn=true” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Click here to flip and read the issue like a magazine![/button]
[facebook]Share[/facebook] [retweet]Tweet[/retweet]
