“It's time for us to take up responsibilities”

With a gamut of emotions, energy, enthusiasm and of course, expectations, members of the

LGBTQIA

community headed to

Samvidhan

Square where the fourth

pride

march took place. As is the case every year, the

march

saw an eclectic mix of first timers, regulars from the community and allies participating. What was interesting to note was that the theme this year was 'social responsibilities'.
One of the members of the community, Nikunj Joshi explained, “Last year, our theme was freedom, because that was the first year after Sec 377 was repealed. So, instead of talking about just acceptance and rights, we decided to make this year's parade a platform to talk about our duties and responsibilities towards society. This year's activities will mainly focus on environmental issues, saving the girl child, women's empowerment, justice for all, etc.”
Anand Chandrani from Saarthi Trust said that though the number of people attending the march is soaring with each passing year, there is still a long battle ahead. “I'm glad that this time, the number of people turning up wearing masks has gone down. This means that the fear of being judged is slowly diminishing. But I don't deny the fact that there is still a long way to go,” said Anand, adding, “Unfortunately, a lot of people still don't know the full form of LGBTQIA. So, we have been working continously towards sensitising people from all walks of life through workshops, awareness programmes, creative events and film screenings.”

Yeh hai jalwa
There was no dearth of glamour in the march. The street turned into a runway as many community members turned up in their stylish best. Members of Queer Girls, a group from Raipur, came dressed like Bollywood celebrities and stole the limelight. Ally, who recreated one of Deepika Padukone's Cannes looks, said, “Deepika is my favourite actress, so I got similar attire designed for this parade. I love dressing up and this is my way of saying that I'm proud to be who I am.”

Focus on mental health

Prachee

Arya, who recently came out as bisexual and got connected with the community to promote the importance mental health, said, “This is my first pride parade. I must share that the entire process of accepting and acknowledging the fact that I'm a bisexual took a toll on my mental health. I realised that most people go through the same. So, through a community - Dear Minds - we created a space where not just LGBTQIA members, but any individual can come forward and speak his/her heart.”