Coming out of the dark Indian closet

With the Namma Pride event happening today, hundreds of members from the LGBT community are fervently gearing up to participate in it. Among those is software developer Sriram Kumaran, who works in the city.

As a gay man, Sriram got the opportunity to travel to Orlando to attend an LGBT workplace equality conference. Calling his trip to Florida, a life-changing one, Sriram says, “When I was nominated to attend the conference, I had to tell my manager about my sexuality. I hadn't revealed it to my colleagues because I'm not the kind to flaunt my sexuality. But I made a bold move and told him, and surprisingly he was very welcoming.”

At the conference, Sriram witnessed around 3000 members from the LGBT community from all over the world. A shy and reserved person by nature, Sriram’s time at the conference was a monumental transformation for him.

“That’s because I had to speak in front of so many people. At the conference, we had to explain to them about what we do in India to make the lives of LGBT employees better and how we sensitise our allies. We had a lot of workshops and discussed about other countries where homosexuality is illegal. It was a learning experience where I got to build relationships and friendships. We also had an interesting interaction with an openly gay British parliament member,” he shares.

In a country where a lot of people shun homosexuality or are ignorant about it, growing up as a gay boy wasn’t easy for Sriram. “I didn’t have anyone who was gay around me. I’d often put myself in a corner and wouldn’t mix too well with others. I grew up with an inferiority complex. But when I moved to the US, it opened my eyes to the LGBT community there. I saw hundreds of people in California go to the streets and talk about it — this gave me a purpose in life and I thought if it can happen in America, why not in India.”

Sriram reveals that he came out to his parents when he was 27 when they were thinking of getting him married. “I e-mailed them and told them I was gay. I told them I wasn’t going to marry a woman and spoil her life and mine. They were in denial. I can’t really blame them as they didn’t know about homosexuality when growing up. Even now, we don’t talk about it although they wish that I’d change my mind and marry a girl,” he says.

On a parting note, Sriram hopes that section 377 is done away with. He adds, “There is a lot of transphobia here which has to go. There was a news channel that portrayed homosexuals in a really bad light. We want the media to be sensitive to our rights and portray us in good light.”