On Sunday, Vaibhav and Milind beamed as they walked under the seven colours of pride for the first time as a married couple. The 27-year-olds tied the knot in front of a panditji that very morning. The pride march, besides being a protest against section 377 and inequality, was also a celebration of love and diversity with many LGBTIQ couples feeling safe to announce their togetherness in public.
On Sunday, Vaibhav and Milind beamed as they walked under the seven colours of pride for the first time as a married couple. The 27-year-olds tied the knot in front of a panditji that very morning. The pride march, besides being a protest against section 377 and inequality, was also a celebration of love and diversity with many LGBTIQ couples feeling safe to announce their togetherness in public.
Vishal, an animator and director, met Manoj, professor, four years ago through a dating website. "When you love someone, marriage just becomes a label to legitimise it. Our families don't know yet that we got married today but they'll know now," said Vishal, who added that the priest that conducted the ceremony also belongs to the LGBT community.
As Vishal and Manoj prepare for their honeymoon in Goa, complete with 'baraatis, a wedding band and two white horses that they were not allowed to ride, Hitesh and Vrushank spent around Rs 25,000 to plan the whole march as a married couple. Although no ceremony has taken place, both of them have sworn their love to each other. "We have been planning this for more than month and actually got an idea of how stressful it can be," said 21-year-old Vrushankh. Though he is optimistic about same sex marriage being legal in India one day, 28-year-old Hitesh is a little skeptical. "We felt safe to do this today as there is protection from cops and its our own community. It's a way to say that we exist and we are not a taboo. We are not a miniscule minority," they declared.
Taking photos from the bylanes was a lesbian couple which has been together for 22 years. Sanya (name changed) identifies as a gender queer person who is neither male nor female and met Nilakshi (name changed) in college in 1991. Both are in their forties now and are artists, but don't live together as Nilakshi is afraid of coming out to her family. "Once souls connect you don't need labels. The next step is to be financially independent so that both of us can settle down together," said Sanya, who works as a graphic designer.
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