Amidst reports of a gradual shrinking of cultural, liberal and intellectual space where books, writers, movies and intellectuals are slowly but surely being silenced, it comes as a pleasant surprise to learn that Mumbai's gay pride march has got the green signal.
Amidst reports of a gradual shrinking of cultural, liberal and intellectual space where books, writers, movies and intellectuals are slowly but surely being silenced, it comes as a pleasant surprise to learn that Mumbai's gay pride march has got the green signal. Today afternoon, the march will begin from August Kranti Maidan, near Gowalia Tank, wind its way to Opera House and then return to the start point.
Initially, the march was denied permission by the traffic cops, but after a round of meetings it has now got the go-ahead. This is a welcome move by authorities, as the march, symbolic though it may be, is becoming a part of Mumbai's ethos.
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It would have been ironic if India's most cosmopolitan, liberal city were to put the brakes on a march that helps the community take up mainstream spaces. While the Pride March had a huge novelty value when it started off in 2008, and some of that has worn off as the years progressed, it is vital that the event remain part of the city's calendar. For all the so-called progress and even as gay voices are being heard more frequently, it will still take time to blur the lines between gay and mainstream.
The LGBTQ community must not now be confined to different spaces or a world different from the rest. What better way to illustrate that than allow gay voices and supporters to walk on the streets to make a statement?
Some time ago, a book on stories by the gay community was launched at a mainstream bookstore in South Mumbai. The space was significant and proved that demarcations between what spaces gay and the mainstream inhabit should disappear. Cohesiveness, acceptance and awareness comes not only in the mind, but in physical spaces too.
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