‘In the life of Romal’, is an ongoing project where I am documenting the life of my friend, Laishram Romal Michael Singh. Romal is gay. Being gay isn’t the end of his identity, isn’t it? But being gay can be enough to pass a prejudiced judgement in Indian society where homosexuality is still shunned upon.
Till recently, consensual homosexual act between two adults was a crime in India. Decriminalization of homosexuality may have marked a new era of human rights in India. But, it is still a long way before a majority of the population starts treating homosexual individuals as equal in the city.
Romal is a multi-faceted individual. He is religious (Christian) and gay at the same time, and this fascinates me because religious institutions are most often in disagreement with homosexuality.
His identities of being gay, Christian, a Manipuri, a Tamil, a friend, a writer, and so on, are being explored in this project to go beyond stereotypes on gay community existing in Indian society.
The story takes a deviation from the what is often portrayed and stereotyped in popular media as gay activism.
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It is rare for people in general to be conscious and articulate about their many identities (cultural, occuptaional etc..) and comfortably use it as an explanation/ model for their behavior (tastes and reactions) in general. I wonder if this is more common among gay people – my (not very well informed) gut tells me that it is probably slightly more so.
It is rare for people in general to be conscious and articulate about their many identities (cultural, occuptaional etc..) and comfortably use it as an explanation/ model for their behavior (tastes and reactions) in general. I wonder if this is more common among gay people – my (not very well informed) gut tells me that it is probably slightly more so.