Antevasin

June 28, 2009: Making history in Chennai

Normally, Chennai is half a world away from New York City, but today, the two grew a little closer.

This afternoon, on the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Chennai held its first ever gay pride parade. My friends and I were excited - and of course, PROUD - to be a part of this historic event.

In years past, marches have been held in other major Indian cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, but today’s Pride event was impressive because of Chennai’s reupation as a rather conservative city.

Hundreds of people showed up for the parade today. Some wore rainbow-colored feather boas and beautiful sarees; others wore masks to cover their faces. My friends and I, many of us foriegners and newly arrived in the city, weren’t quite sure how we’d be received by the marchers, but as soon as the parade got underway we were welcomed into the ranks. Before long, we were carrying signs and chanting slogans - in English and Tamil - right along side Chennai’s loudest and proudest LGBT community members, activists, and allies. It was a joyous celebration, and I, for one, felt incredibly lucky to be a part of it.

At one point, I looked around me and caught my breath at the sight: Indians marching shoulder-to-shoulder with Americans, with French, Chinese, Pakistani, Japanese, British people. It suddenly became clear that Chennai’s Pride parade was about so much more than LGBT rights in Chennai: we were marching for human rights. Rights that do - and should - transcend national, sexual, cultural boundaries.

For that, I was indeed proud.

Congratulations, Chennai!