Has anything changed?

A reporter called me recently to ask if the 'supposed' decriminalisation of Article 377 had any actual effects on the community that I belong to. Till then, the actual mental review of the situation was a scary activity that I wanted to delay as much as possible. But the reporter insisted, so I decided to sit down and do what I feared the most -- take a reality check.u00a0

u00a0I wish we could stay in the world of vivid imagination, much like the world in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a world full of multiple realities that co-exist and weave their way into each other mellifluously, almost without any sense of chaos. But then again, it's the chaos that makes life liveable and like an un-said rule, all good things seem to stem out of a chaotic situation.

Back to the reality check -- I looked around at relationships being made, being broken, marriages being solemnised, live-in partnerships going haywire, people coming out and going back into the closet and everything else that defines my community entrenched in mayhem and I realised that nothing had changed.

If we act like love, pain, guilt and inhibitions are not a natural part of us, I have no clue where we are heading
We seemed to have moved into a circular pattern where we cry for liberation and then ensure we run back for cover the moment the cameras come on. Like for example, hardly a week ago, when newspapers were going berserk on new angles for a Valentine's Day story, I seemed to be an address book for everyone who wanted 'gay' contacts.

u00a0Much calling and messaging later, I gave up. Here I was, ready to scream out loud about how important being gay was, and how, even though I was single, the fact that the law supported me, was enough reason to celebrate. But I couldn't be quoted of course, unless my name and identity were mutated beyond recognition.

But where were all the gay couples who were celebrating their love just a few weeks ago? Everyone seemed to have disappeared. Some attributed their silence to the frivolousness of the concept, while others preferred lying blatantly, "We don't believe in relationships like the heterosexual population does! We don't need to go around proclaiming our relationship status."

I don't see why saying that you love someone is a problem? But what I do know is that my community has a long way to go. We are different yes, but if we're going to act like love, pain, guilt and inhibitions are not a natural part of us, I have no clue where we're heading. There will always be a few genuine souls who will speak their heart, and till they exist, I can breathe easy.