Indian gay prince invited for tete-e-tete with Oprah Winfrey

RAJPIPLA: From obscurity to a chance to have a tete-e-tete with none other than chat show queen Oprah Winfrey -- that is the bizzare life of Manvendra Singh Gohil, the prince of erstwhile state of Rajpipla in Gujarat and inarguably one of the most prominent gay personalities in India today.

Gohil is scheduled to sit across the celebrity chat show host on October 26 for an episode to discuss issues regarding gay rights, the role of his NGO `Lakshya trust' and the plight of HIV positive people in India.
 
"It is a fantastic feeling to be invited to talk to Oprah Winfrey in her show. I just received a communication on October 6 inviting me to be present in her New York studio", Gohil told at his palace estate in the tribal district of Narmada.
    
The gay prince is the first male personality from India to be invited for such a globally viewed chat show. Beauty queen Ashwariya Rai was the first woman to be interviewed.
   
The 42-year-old is the only person of royal lineage who has openly proclaimed to being a gay and, after creating an initial stir in his native town as well as family, is now being looked upon as a champion for gay rights and an activist for HIV derelicts via his NGO 'Lakshya Trust'.
   
"I came out in the open in 2005 by giving an interview to a trusted reporter of a local daily. I did it because I was tired of concealing my real identity before my own people. I did not expect the news to go beyond Gujarat but it grabbed national and global news space", says the prince.
 
Shuffling between his plush house in a Mumbai's upmarket locality and the centuries old `Rajavanti palace,' the scion of Rajpipla has found it very handy to use his new found status to seek better facilities for HIV-infected derelicts and plans to build a home for them on the banks of the river Narmada which flows past his several properties.
  
"I am planning to make a home for those living in the final stages of HIV and those who are neglected by relatives. They just need love and not medicines. There could be a cremation facility for the victims also. I am working to make this project a reality", announces Manvendra, who is working with Dada, his spiritual guru who also 'reads' horoscopes to find out if the person is gay or not.
 
Manvendra was initially disowned by his father after he proclaimed that he was gay but was later accepted. His mother is still to accept his status and refuses to attend any of his functions.
 
"It was not easy for me or my family during this phase. However, I was sure of what I had to do and made the announcement. My mother has still not reconciled with the fact that I am born gay. However, my father has no grudges," says the gay prince who is also learning classical music.
 
For his pronounced gay rights campaigns from the little known town of Rajpipla to Gujarat and across the country, Manvendra was awarded the UNAIDS award 2006.
 
The blue-blooded gay activist also holds an annual music and fine arts festival in his palatial campus in October each year to promote the motto that `Gays are also talented and creative'.
 
Numerous artists including dancers, painters, choreographers in the industry across the country are gay, says the prince and he uses the music festival celebrated in his `princely state' to promote both gay and straight artists to express themselves.
 
"Just as artists are born with inherent talent.....we are born gay and people have to understand that it is a part of (our) nature", says Manvendra, who divorced his first wife 15 months after their wedding finding it impossible to live a normal married life.

The music festival at Rajpipla is a welcome experience not only for the artists who are invited to perform but also a great chance for the locals, including the tribals, to visit the palace and watch the performances.
 
"It is a wonderful chance to see the king, prince and so many guests at the palace which is only an annual possibility. We have heard that the prince is different (gay) but what do we have to do with it. He is a nice person," opines a local who applauded Manvendra's harmonium recital.
 
Amidst all the activity in the palace and unnerved by the gay status of his son, Raghubir Gohil, the Maharaja of the erstwhile princely state attends functions hosted by his son.

"I have learnt to cope with the fact that my son is gay. I sometimes feel that I was born at the wrong time at the wrong place", says the Maharaja, dressed like any commoner.
 
The centuries-old palace, now in a dilapidated condition with its pink paint wearing off, comes alive only during the prince's birthday or when hired for film shooting.

Regarding his `princely' hobbies and pastimes like others of his clan who were either ace horse riders, polo players, marksmen, sportsmen or antique collectors, Manvendra has no such extra interests. 

"I have no such hobbies. I like listening to music and having sex", says Manvendra with a mischievous smile.