And, my phone beeped twice in succession, it was him; my friend who had confided in me well over a year ago. With the Supreme Court decriminalizing Article 377, there was finally hope for him. He seemed overwhelmed by the kind of support that had poured in. However, it isn’t the end of it all he felt, the judgment is just but a legal validation; what about the society that had shunned him and those like him for years?? Would they now accept him like one of it’s own? Would it open up enough to embrace the change that now lingers in the air and also in the doubtful minds of many? Would there be a backlash of ideas and outdated ideals? And, above all else; would his family be ready to stomach the fact that he is just as normal as anyone else?
Love has been set free, but real freedom is yet to come by; it’ll take some more time for everyone to accept love with all it’s orientations as just love. We as a society have been living under a rock, it wasn’t them; to imagine the kind of treatment that has been meted out to people who we felt were different sends a chill down my spine. I have been lucky to have known a few of them who have struggled for long, battled an identity crisis and lived their lives in isolation; fearing what the outcome would be. Now that the entire country is busy celebrating love, would it necessarily transform the outlook and minds of the people?
We have often glorified the tales of love and the struggles that come along with it, we have often sympathized with runaway couples who were victimized by family and the community; but do we have it in us for real to accept someone who isn’t genetically any different but with a different orientation? Will landlords open their doors? Will places of worship not discriminate citing some passages from their holy books? And, will self-proclaimed experts of genetic engineering still believe that this is nothing but a disease that can be cured? With doubts looming large over his head, I had no other option but to pacify him. I knew his doubts were valid, they weren’t just ordinary questions that his mind was posing. After years of seclusion, having himself ridiculed and questioned; these harsh truths were bound to cloud up the already doubtful mind of his.
Growing up, it was in us to tag someone as ‘homosexual’ or ‘gay’; perhaps that is when the seeds of homophobia had started to germinate; without knowing how or why. Without questioning the very basis of it, in fact there is no basis to love, self-doubt again? No, not this time; I have matured enough to realize the fact that there will be tags, people would be labelled but it is upon me to decide what I choose to be, certainly not a Bigot anymore.
The past cannot be corrected, but a precedent can be set; I for one will do my bit. Inclusion isn’t just a constitutional obligation, it is a duty and now it is upon me to hold my friend’s hand as he moves forward. The society will change, if not with the judgment but by education, and I am at it. The change has begun, at my place, at my home. Maa, understands now that homosexuals are normal; she knows that penguins can be homosexuals too and if there’s more to explain: I’ll do that too.
And, for my mate: I’ll call you back. For now; look up, there’s a rainbow up there, brightening up the skies with all it’s pride!!
abhishek purkayastha 