Sunday, August 16, 2009

Out and Proud in Mumbai

Filling in quickly--pictures will follow later. Today. As it turns out, wouldn't you know it, we were here in Mumbai for the Gay Pride Parade, the first ever in Mumbai after the courts have declared the colonial anti-gay laws unconstitutional. So we marched along. How about that. Steve wore a sign that said in Hindi, "Hindus, Moslems, Sikhs, Christians, Heteros, Homos, all Brothers". They were missing the "Jews" part, so we felt that we had to stand up for our co-religionists and make sure they were represented. We figured having the rabbi carry the sign more than made up for our written absence. We danced with hijras from Tamil Nadhu, to drums and reed horns, met a wonderful woman who was there carrying a sign stating "I'm proud of my Gay Son!", though her son is currently in Atlanta, she had to come and marched by herself. So we grabbed her and took some photos, and hugged her, and told her we were proud of her! It's very hard for people here, the cultural taboos are extremely strong, so she sort of stole our hearts. We also ran into a man Bruno, from Paris, whom we had met early on in the day, totally by chance as he was lugging his suitcase up the stairs in the train station in Bandra. He tried to help us with directions, huffing and puffing and sweating, and then there he was, marching along!! And you thought the Upper West Side was small.

Anyway, off to the airport. We'll post photos and more stories later.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Steves,
    I enjoyed reading your blog posts, and particularly the Jewish connection. We just returned home from Mumbai with our baby (conceived with donor egg) and we're having his bris next week!) I wish you all the best in your adventure!

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  2. Hello Stephanie-
    Mazel tov! I hope you and Adam and Micah are all well. I'll write a longer post on your blog.

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  3. Hi Steve and Steve, enjoyed your posts. Good luck to you both. I look forward to reading more. We are off to Mumbai and Rotunda in less than three weeks for the same adventure. Nice to know we have people in the same situation to share our experiences. Take care, Doug and Bill

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  4. Hey Doug-Thanks, and good luck to you, too. If I can give you any more particulars about where to stay, or go, and what to expect at Rotunda, let me know. Looking forward to hearing how it all goes for you.
    Steven

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  5. Steven, for some reason I didn't get your reply to my post on your blog...but I just checked back and saw that you DID reply. Well, we're back home after a long trip to Mumbai. Just wondering how things went for you guys, hoping well. I didn't see a post on your blog about results...anyway, we have our prego test this Monday. I'm obsessing about it. Ugh. Anyway, if you want to email me direct please do: dougrigg@mac.com or I'll just remember to check back here. Take care.
    Doug

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  6. Hey guys, I just came across your blog. Good luck to you both. Congrats on the changes in your life. You have so much going on right now. Whew! You two are going to be busy beavers. Cincy isn't so bad. Rob and I move here to Maryland from Columbus Ohio. We miss the Midwest! If you ever get the chance to go to Columbus make sure you stop by the Short North. They have some really fun shops and nice bars. Good Luck to you both. We are here for you!!

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