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ShareIn the past few weeks, before the possible overflowing of the Mithi river and the roads of Mumbai getting flooded grabbed headlines, it was the Delhi High Court ruling on section 377 that had caught the nation's attention. We watched the news and discussions ensued in our home.
Soon to have a question hurled in our direction by my son, "What is section 377 all about?" I hemmed and hawed in my mind for a few minutes before explaining in the simplest of terms what the landmark judgment meant. I thought I glimpsed a 'what's the big deal about it?' expression on his face.
The first time the term 'gay' had cropped up in our family had been a few years ago when -- and you guessed it right -- the movie Kal Ho Naa Ho had hit the screen. The scenes between the two Khans -- Saif Ali and Shah Rukh -- had their degree of humour... but being a generation older, I had silently looked sideways at my then not yet 10-year-old son and just-in-her-teens daughter. They took it in their stride and somehow the topic did not come up again.
A few months later, the three of us with my cousin were driving out one night for ice-cream and somehow we got talking about the film. All I asked casually as we returned home was, "Where did you first hear the term gay?" The honest answer was, "From friends and I looked it up in the dictionary. It's a guy-guy thing." I don't know how other parents have dealt with this and similar issues that may raise questions that youngsters will want answered.
We have an 'open house' where free-for-all dialogue is encouraged. I watch with amusement as the now Pune-based sister and the at-home-in-Mumbai brother message each other when in 'stress from Mommy'! It's their outlet for feelings, that space that is meant for siblings alone. And I realise that they -- like most of Gen Next -- have a different lingo, a different reaction to situations. So, many things are no big deal! Their minds are open; they are growing up quickly... and, perhaps, so should we!
