YOUR SAY

from 2017-12 Sydney (2)

Twenty20 gossip

Friends In Deed

HARSHAD PANDHARIPANDE wrote about online communities helping migrants in real life.

Vikramjeet Singh, whose mum’s treatment was crowdfunded by the group members, wrote: Thanks to everyone for supporting me and sharing my problem with others. I really appreciate all IIS members. Thanks to group admin also who allowed me to raise fund from their page. Thanks once again to all of you

Gaurav Wadekar, who was also featured in the article, wrote: It is an honour to be featured along with Desi Referral Network in the cover story published by Indian Link. This is truly amazing in terms of the effort that you are putting in helping people.

Krish Na wrote: A heart-warming article. Great job, people!

Prateek Saxena wrote: So awesome!

Aashish Dube wrote: Feeling proud to be a part of this group!!

Our story on the same-sex marriage result - and the negative reaction to it from some quarters - spurred a reader into penning down her thoughts.

Reeti Trivedi wrote: “All things queer are also part of nature.”

This has been on my mind ever since Australia’s survey/debate to allow same-sex marriage was on. I suddenly realised many people around me had a problem with the idea that all queer things are also part of nature. And the sad part was they thought it’s unnatural. They thought the whole concept is modern, Western or sexual.

While the thought was fresh in my mind, I came across the rather regressive and clearly unscienti c views on homosexuality by some Indian spiritual and political leaders. Thankfully, these opinions were quickly countered - at least on Twitter, where the leaders faced quite a bit of criticism.

I also recently came across a piece of news about a woman in the US rejecting a gay photographer for her maternity photos because of the photographer’s sexual orientation. The woman texted the photographer saying that she did not want someone gay to take pictures. She added that she was against it and she did not want her ve-year-old child to think that being gay is okay. She said she did not want her child to be in uenced by people who think that such a lifestyle is ‘okay and acceptable.’ Hundreds of people wrote comments on the post, saying that just as the photographer chose to be homosexual, the woman reserved the right to pick a photographer she felt comfortable with. My point here is, do people understand that homosexuality is not a choice?

Before the marriage equality survey, I read on many forums and heard many people talk about what would happen if Australia did indeed legalise samesex marriage? Would it be then taught at schools? Would that then result in in uencing children?

This fear stems purely from lack of awareness and knowledge about the issue. It may be even pronounced in a large part of the Indian community since sexand sex education - is a taboo subject, not to be discussed with children. To make it simple, nobody can teach your child or in uence your child to be gay. It is not a choice they can make. It is natural. On the contrary, people would be well served to start teaching their children - and themselves - acceptance. I was happy when Australia nally came around to saying yes to marriage equality. And just when this took place, I nished reading the book Shikhandi by Devdutt Pattanaik. My Indian friends would know that Shikhandi was the eldest daughter of Drupada and the elder sister of Draupadi.

Drupada wanted a son so bad that he raised his daughter as a son and called her Shikhandi. So much so that she was given a wife, only to be discovered by the bride on the wedding night that her husband was a woman. A yaksha called Sthuna came to Shikhandi’s rescue. He lent her his manhood for one night. Shikhandi then performed his husbandly duties to the satisfaction of his new wife and returned the next day to give back the borrowed organ. Kubera, the king of yakshas, was so pleased with Shikhandi’s integrity that he allowed Shikhandi to use the yaksha’s manhood as long as he lived.

The book tells many stories such as Shikhandi’s. It talks of Mahadeva, who became a woman to deliver his devotee’s child; of Urvashi, who was born of no woman; of Arjuna, who was temporarily castrated for showing restraint; of Bhagirath, who was born of two women and so on. Some tales are touching, some playful and some disturbing - but these stories have been collected from far and wide.

YEH DOSTI, HUM NAHI CHHODENGE

We shared a video of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit Sarthak Kaushal wrote: Turnbull has no clue what Modi is talking, like he has no clue about people of Australia, lol!

Chandra Kishore wrote: Great dosti Our PM values his friendship with Modiji.

KRISHNA, THE DIVINE PRANKSTER

APARNA ANANTHUNI wrote whether Lord Krishna’s ‘divine love play’ just a euphemism for eve-teasing?

Keedi Tohu wrote: This is an allegory of the love between the soul and God. As Saint Meera Bai once said, all devotees are female lovers of the Divine God.

Mesopotamian, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Egyptian, Persian, Judaism, Biblical… all these cultures and civilisations have copious references to homosexuality and queerness. Homosexuals, transgenders, transsexuals, crossdressers, ‘hijras’ and eunuchs have all been part of our society since eons. They have been part of every possible culture, period, civilisation and mythology.

The book only helped me understand the subject better and validate my thoughts on the issue. Actually, the thought is very simple: Love is love. Long live love.

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