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From
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 13, Dated 31 Mar 2012 |
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| CULTURE & SOCIETY |
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GAY RIGHTS |
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Vijayam PS, 62
(Retired as assistant chief accounts officer, Department of posts, Bengaluru)
Nithin Manayath, 35
(Lecturer, Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru)
By Shonali Ghosal
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Vijayam PS and Nithin Manayath
Photo: Hari Adivarekar |
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NITHIN TOLD her he was gay when Vijayam was in hospital for a heart problem. “He claims he wanted to cheer me up,” she laughs. “The subject was known to me, I found nothing wrong with it and so I accepted it right away,” she says. The way she sees it, two consenting adults can live according to their wish as long as they aren’t harming anyone. Her husband, on the other hand, didn’t take the news well, but she is broad-minded about his stance too. “Each person has a different mindset, you can’t induce acceptance just as you can’t forcefully change someone’s sexuality,” says Vijayam.
Lodging a protest may seem at odds with such an accepting mindset. Vijayam explains that it is, in fact, a way to counter ignorance since people who believe homosexuality is a crime don’t have a clue about it, the petition is the only way of opening up the issue to further discussion. “I have a question for those who question the naturalness, morality and legality of homosexuality. If someone close to you confesses to being homosexual, will you abandon them?” she asks.
Shonali Ghosal is a Correspondent with Tehelka.
shonali@tehelka.com
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