The masks come off at gay pride rally

For those who watched Saturday’s gay pride march in the city, the most striking observation was that compared to earlier parades, only a handful of marchers wore masks this time.

As the gay community celebrates the process of decriminalisation of homosexuality in the country, few participants at the parade felt the need to wear disguises. Vivek Anand, chief executive of Humsafar Trust, a group working with the gay, lesbian and transgender community said, “We were out there, without trying to hide who we are. There were a few mask-wearers, but most marchers were not afraid or ashamed to be there. This was the biggest change in the march.”

Marcher Praful Baweja said, “The whole idea of a gay pride march is to be proud of oneself and not hide yourself in the closet. In that way, this parade was a success.”

Gay pride marches have been an annual affair in the city since 2005. But it began to be called the Queer Azadi March only from 2008. This year, the parade attracted record participation. One of the groups that stationed volunteers at the gate of Gowalia Tank Maidan, the starting point of the march, counted over 3,000 participants, the biggest number so far.

People began collecting at the Gowalia Tank ground in the afternoon and the march started at 4pm, ending an hour later at Chowpatty Beach, some 3km away. It was flagged off by actor Celina Jaitley. Like other gay pride parades, this too took the form of a colourful carnival with drummers, dancers and costumed participants. A huge rainbow-flag lead the parade. There were families with children and some marchers had brought their dogs bedecked with colourful bows.

Almost 20 organisations were part of the parade and as spectators watched the diverse groups, including beautiful women in mini-skirts and macho-looking men, many stereotypes about the community fell by the wayside. Marchers distributed pamphlets saying ‘One World — One Hope’ to bystanders. They encountered very little hostility or jeers from onlookers. “I have been to gay parades abroad and I have seen that there is more homophobia in some of the western countries. In our country, there is more ignorance and less of hatred,” said Anand.

At Chowpatty, the parade was not allowed to enter the beach in deference to a high court order that prohibits rallies there. Many of the marchers were unhappy and crowded the footpath outside the beach but dispersed an hour later. Many even gathered at Cafe Ideal across the road for an impromptu and rambunctious party. For those with special invitations, there was a post-march celebration at Liquid Lounge, the night club next door.