377 and us: Different hues together make the painting of humanity beautiful

In the past decade and a half, sections of urban India have become much more liberal about accepting gay men and women than our colonial-era laws might have suggested

When a friend was 13, he recalls an uncle asking those at a family Sunday lunch to name the kind of person they could not stand. “Rude people,” said one relative. “Apathetic people,” volunteered another. Then an uncle said, “Gay people.” Such casual cruelty can leave emotional scars that last decades. Happily, my friend is a portrait of boisterous confidence, and lives in Delhi with his boyfriend, whom he met in high school. The uncle has come a long way, too: next month, my friend’s uncle is throwing a “Goodbye 377” party to which all the family elders are invited.