A parade of pride parables
CHENNAI : A prism that invites different colours of the spectrum to converge in itself to produce the giant beam of white light — that was Rajarathinam Stadium, Egmore, on Sunday, the day of the 15th Chennai Rainbow Self Respect Pride March organised by the Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition. For the people looking at the parade from their apartments on Langs Garden Road it would have been a fleeting moment of vibrant costumes, happy faces, and a display of colourful banners, balloons, and slogans. Zoom into the parade, and it was a safe space, a ground that offered a sense of belongingness and an opportunity for exchanging stories of overcoming prejudices and struggles.
As almost 5,500 people from the community and allies walked through the streets, the fences that often separated people temporarily weakened. For members who were attending the Chennai Pride Walk since its inception in 2014, the increase in the crowd was a welcoming sight.
“In the first year of the Pride Walk in Chennai the number of people walking was outnumbered by the police staff who were providing the support. There is an exponential increase in the number of participants every year, mostly because Gen-Z youth have an idea about themselves and are more accepting,” shared Felix from Orinam. It felt as if the energy of people has been 15 times more this year, commented Independent filmmaker and LGBTQIA+ activist Malini Jeevarathnam.
Pets wrapped in rainbow flags, kids decked in colourful accessories and chanting ‘Azadi’ like their parents and other members did, participants coming out by flaunting their banners, holding placards with slogans like “There is no such thing as majority”, “Pride is political’’, “The system isn’t broken, Eat the kyriarchy” — it was a festival of celebrating inclusivity. “This year we have witnessed the participation of a lot of parents, kids, and allies. We had specially organised a vehicle for them to attend the march,” shared Srijith Sundaram, theatre artiste, and LGBTQIA+ activist. Declaring his support to the community, Justice N Anand Venkatesh, sitting judge of the Charted High Court of Madras, addressed the gathering after the parade.
When fighting for acceptance has become almost routine for the queer community, drawbacks like denial of permission to conduct a march at the beach or areas that could possibly bring in larger crowds, and bad roads were negligent. Concurring that the focus should be on building solidarity, Malini said, “Even though there is a lot of visibility, the government should take further initiatives to bring more acceptance for the members of the community.”