BGY for Magic; Nature; Sunlight

My most sincere apologies for not being able to post for the last two days, and a bigger apology for having to combine three posts into one. Work and studies have taken a serious toll the past few weeks and its been very hard to write. Yet, a commitment is a commitment. Ergo ...

The topic of marriage has always been a hell lot tricky. People have, for quite a while now, been trying to break free of caste/religion based shackles that constrict marriages across these boundaries. We have seen a lot of extreme cases, sometimes with the Khap Panchayats, fatwas and what not?! It certainly is a challenge for a lot of us to look beyond these limitations to truly have a matrimony with the person we love. That said, this challenge is a lot more Herculean when it comes to the union of two people of the same sex.

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The first few years of the 21st century perhaps formed a significant phase in the recognition of marriage equality between people of the same sex. More than a dozen countries in the world today recognize same-sex marriages, the most significantly recent perhaps being New Zealand. In addition, a lot of countries recognize civil unions. And then there are countries that have a strict "Oh My God, no no, its a sin" attitude.

Ancient Chinese and Roman historical records mention male relationships.Medieval history has it that a Spanish church performed a same sex marriage between two men way back in 1061. In contemporary times, Denmark perhaps is the first country that recognized a legal relationship for same sex couples, back in 1989. Netherlands, in 2001, became the first country ever to give legal validity to same sex marriages. South Africa, Argentina, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Norway are a few other countries that recognize same sex marriages by law. Mexico is perhaps one of the few countries that legalized adoption by same sex couples. The United Kingdom recognizes civil unions, but not marriages. And then there's Obama, who has been generally very supportive of this cause.

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India is one of the many countries where discussing sexuality itself is considered a taboo. Well, discussing sex is looked down upon, let alone sexuality. However, a significant step was taken back in 2009 when the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalizes "sexual activity against the order of nature". This is largely perceived as a big milestone for the LGBT community's fight towards equality.

Recent years have seen a rise in the number of activists and support groups in India that patronize the cause for equality. Pride parades have been up and about in many Indian cities including our very own Chennai. There are a lot of NGOs and support groups that organize these Pride parades and like any event typically Indian, the parades are celebrated with much pomp and show; not to mention the colors and high spirits.

There is no doubt that India has a long way to go before it can even think about legalizing same sex marriages, let alone take any step towards it. That said, I do believe that in a way, this sometimes seems logical as well. A country that has a deep sense of cultural attachment; a country where emotions run deep and pounce hard; a society which has its own troubles to fathom; a community that still is fighting hard to provide respect for its citizens irrespective of caste, religion and color; a place that still strives to provide for security to both women and men; discussion of homosexuality is something way out of its league. Yet, positive strides are being achieved towards this, and things would take their own sweet time. But hope is what we as humans in general, and Indians in specific have in abundance. The country sure has a long way to go in this direction, but it will.

Blue symbolizes Magic (something that is in dire need in India)
Green stands for Nature (whose "definition", sometimes seems very flawed)
Yellow portrays Sunlight (brightness, if you can think)

I for Harmony

Resuming the CBC VIBGYOR tag after the spirited post here,

The Stonewall riots of '69 were perhaps the biggest inspiration to the whole Pride movement across the world. Following a raid by policemen on the Stonewall Inn in New York, members of the gay community resorted to violent demonstrations. Faced with discrimination even prior to that, all that was needed was a spark, to trigger a massive movement against what was considered 'unjust'.

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Originally a restaurant-cum-night club for the heterosexual people, 1966 marked the year when the inn was converted to a gay bar. It did not have any license to sell liquor, but policemen were 'paid off' once a week. Patrons were required to sign their names after a bouncer 'verified' them through a peep hole.

On June 28 1969, a few policemen had entered the bar undercover to gather evidence, and in the wee hours of the morning, the place was fully surrounded by policemen who 'took' the place under seizure. By the time police wagons arrived to take custody of all the patrons arrested, the numbers had swelled outside the bar and there was a lot of commotion. Slowly, the commotion gave way to protests by the arrested people, many of whom were trying to escape or defy the police action. Later, the police were kept inside the bar, only to be rescued by another backup team. By then, emotions were running high. Slowly, the crowds cleared. But the next day, the riots began again, this time supported by tourists, bystanders and the like. The Christopher Park(image below) nearby became base camp.

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The aftermath of the Stonewall riots saw the formation of many LGBT support groups and alliances including the Gay Liberation Front, Gay Activists Alliance. The first ever Pride March in US history took place at the same Christopher park exactly a year after the Stonewall incident. Also, pride marches took place in Los Angeles and Chicago.

It must be said that the riots, though very sad in nature, served to inspire a lot of people to take up this activism world wide. Our own country too has had its share of activism with cities including Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi taking up the pride march each year where people "celebrate" who they are. Isn't that what life is all about - To be who you are?

The color Indigo signifies HARMONY

V for Spirit

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club’s CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG where some of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of September to the 7th of September.


When the idea was put forth on CBC, I wanted to write up something that I firmly believe in - the freedom to be yourself, no matter what !! Letting the mind wander, I settled on the most obvious choice - the Rainbow flag for the LGBT movement. A firm believer in equality, I am of the opinion sexuality is one's personal choice, not something to be judged by others.

I intend to use this blog tag to give some insight into the Pride movement, hoping to raise some awareness among all of us.

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Originally flown for the first time at the San Fransisco pride movement in 1978, the flag has undergone a lot of changes over time, mainly due to the non-availability of a few of the colored fabric. The San Fransisco gay community adopted the rainbow flag with much fanfare, particularly in the wake of the assassination of the openly gay supervisor Harvey Milk (remember the movie Milk?) Thirty volunteers actually hand dyed and stitched the flag for the San Fransisco pride movement.

Although the original flag consisted of 8 colors (the VIBGYOR plus pink), the color pink was dropped later, mainly due to its non-availability for mass production. Over the years, the rainbow flag has become the symbol for the pride movement all over the world. Each year, many cities across the world (and our very own Indian cities as well) celebrate the Pride March with much fanfare and gala. At each of these parades, the rainbow flag forms a very important element.


The color violet signifies SPIRIT.

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What's in a spelling

Inspired by Bragadeesh's post here about the troubles his name gave him, here I am, sharing my (mis)experiences with how my name is spelt.

PRASHANTH - Its as simple as that. 9 characters that's all. Nothing more, nothing less.

But over the years, how has my name transformed? Here goes:

Prasanth (most common)
Prasand (seriously? D?)
Prasath (Oh dear God !!)
Prashant (how much trouble is it to add a H in the end?)
Prasant (yeah, now take away that one H as well)
Prasad (how? Seriously, how?)
Prasan (does that even make sense?)
Prason (yeah, this is heights !!)
Prashan (ah, that's one H back)

Thankfully, my last name is a lot more common, so it has just one variance - Asok (again, the H is left out). I have just one question. What do you have against H? Is it too difficult to even type?

The irony here is, people pronounce it properly. The 'Sh' doesn't become 'S' when pronouncing. Then, why miss out when writing? What did the H do to gain so much of wrath? Poor H !

Please don't leave the H out. That's only my favorite letter of my name.

A-Z Singapore : I for Istana

Istana is the official residence of the President of Singapore; well the Rashtrapathi Bhawan equivalent of the country.

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Located along the ever busy Orchard Road (the shopping capital of Singapore), Istana is wholly surrounded by beautiful gardens and a lush green surrounding.

Although it is the ceremonial residence of the President, no President has ever lived there. It is mostly used for state functions, to receive visiting dignitaries and also houses the offices of the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

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Careless; callous; - where are we headed?

The video says it all.

A-Z of Singapore - H for Haze

This is perhaps the most apt entry for this post, something live, something concurrent

Every year, around the dry season (June - October), farmlands in neighbouring Indonesia are burnt down to pave way for palm oil planting. Around this time, the farmers practice the traditional slash and burn way of clearing the farmlands and this causes a rise in pollution levels in Singapore

Over the past few days, the whole of Singapore has been covered in smog and last two days since, it has risen to intolerable, like there's a mass Ganapathi Homam going on, as someone joked

All around, you can see people sporting swanky masks, with fancy names like N95 and so on, that I really got to wondering if this was the case when SARS hit the island big time ten years back.Almost every person on the streets has been wearing one and when you don't wear one, you feel a little out of place. No, seriously

While diplomatic tensions between both countries has escalated and some sort of a blame game is being played, the lovely Singaporeans go out of their way to help one another, distributing free masks being one of the many ways

The Pollution Index soared up to its highest ever (401) yesterday, with that being categorized as hazardous to live in, if sustained. But thankfully, it has been coming down and right now, as I am typing this, everything seems clear outside.

Lets hope the problem doesn't last long

CBC : Six Word Memoir

The following is a part of Chennai Bloggers Club Six word memoir tag where one runs a quick rewind on his/her life and comes up with a simple yet totipotent sentence having just six words that reflects on his/her journey

After much deliberation, I come up with this, something that I firmly believe in.

A choosy pessimist with perennial optimism

I thank Sriram Acharya for passing the baton on to me. Sriram blogs here and calls himself a "A Son, a brother, a friend, a HR professional , a science aficionado. In their respective order of importance !"

I now pass on the journey to dear friend Vid who blogs here. Vid is an amazing singer, I vouch for that. In fact, her dad is a great singer too. You should definitely hear her sing classical music. What a mesmerizing voice the girl has. I also like her blog's theme and design. She calls it the Pensieve, I am sure she was inspired by Dumbledore using it. But why don't you check out for yourself?

55 fiction - The One Night Stand

Two bodies became one, entwined. As we passionately made love, the whole night seemed eternal. Positions interchanged, over and over again. We never seemed to wear out. Six months apart can do wonders. One final time, we came together. For, he had to go away again. "Happy birthday, love", he said, drifting off to sleep.

A-Z of Singapore - G for Geylang

When I decided to take up the A-Z, I knew what I was going to write up for G. The choice was pretty obvious. G for Geylang - the red light district of Singapore.

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Initially built on reclaimed land to build a commercial airport during the British days, Geylang has seen much transformation since. Current day Geylang road has been built in a strategic manner. The main road is divided into North and South sections (called Lorong, in Malay). The beauty of this road is it retains the colonial style buildings, cramped one right next to another

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While during the day time, Geylang looks like any other place, with people carrying on with their usual day jobs, come night (more specifically post 10 PM), the area completely transforms itself to what some may term paradise.

Although prostitution is legal, related activities including public solicitation are not. Various spas and massage centres do exist, that cater to various needs.

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That said, people here sure do know how to enjoy life - something we really must learn from Singaporeans, how exactly to enjoy