"Being positive" , my film about a young man's coming to terms with his HIV + status, has been selected for screening at a short film contest to be aired through Doordarshan Bangla (The State TV Channel of West Bengal).
Sunday, August 26, 2007
"Being Positive" to be aired on Doordarshan
"Being positive" , my film about a young man's coming to terms with his HIV + status, has been selected for screening at a short film contest to be aired through Doordarshan Bangla (The State TV Channel of West Bengal).
Monday, August 6, 2007
Being Positive
Being Positive was my third film, that I shot using still-photography.
Film Genre:
Short film, communication material, based on serial still photography
Duration:
5 minute
Language:
Bengali & English - as two different audio versions of the same story.
Short film, communication material, based on serial still photography
Duration:
5 minute
Language:
Bengali & English - as two different audio versions of the same story.
Theme:
The film traces the journey of a boy towards the acceptance of his HIV positive status.
Story and Screenplay:
Tirthankar Guha Thakurta
Photography:
Kallol Nath
Music:
VOIX
Mike Nemo
Klaus Neumaier
Silvia O
Avijit Gupta
Ratul Mukherjee
Avijit Gupta
Ratul Mukherjee
Synopsis:
Akash is a 24 year old man, a still photographer by profession. He spends his days snapping photographs, and the nights by developing the negatives into prints.
To his utter surprise, he was diagnosed to be HIV positive when a doctor advised him to test for HIV, for some health problems. It shattered his dreams and aspirations painting his world blue.
However, he met a lady, who was diagnosed to be HIV positive years back, and has been living a perfectly harmonious life since then. From her, Akash gets the inspiration to live; his negative shades turn positive once again; and he realizes that, what might have seemed to be a dead end, might actually be a new turn for a brighter beginning.
Screening:
The film has been submitted at a 5 minute short film competition and awaiting a formal premiere.
Contact Info:
For any details about the film, please contact the director at: tirthankar82@yahoo.co.in
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Strangers in the Rain
Strangers in the Rain was my second attempt to make a film with a handycam and a group of enthusiastic friends!
Synopis :
Three friends with varying sexual orientations decide to live together. The story unfolds as they pass through the adversities of living through unconventional relationships, in a society too closeted with its straight-jacketed perception of morality.
Story, Script and Direction: Tirthankar Guha Thakurta
Director of Cinematography: Richa Mohan
Assistant Directors: Rupesh Chaudhuri, Richa Mohan, Anupam HazraMusic: Jack Rabbit
About The film
The Film is an experimental effort by a group of amateur filmmakers. Shot on a handycam, on a shoestring budget, it was a pleasant exercise of story telling. Three friends with varying sexual orientations decide to live together. The story unfolds as they pass through the adversities of living through unconventional relationships in a society too closeted with its straight-jacketed perception of morality. They have a child who grows up in their loving care, until a weird sequence of events forces one of them to leave home. The story is narrated as the child, now grown-up, speaks to a journalist friend about the lives of his three parents.
About the filmmakers :
This is the second directorial venture of Tirthankar Guha Thakurta, based on a story, and script written by him. His debut film ‘Piku Bhalo Achhey’ (Piku is fine) which he made with his friends as a second year medical student, received critical acclaim in various film festival around the world (2nd ICMSC, Bangalore; 10th Kolkata International Film Festival [Short Film section]; Alliance Françoise, Chennai; SGFF 2005, Kolkata; etc) and at various workshops and conferences (Bangkok, Brighton, Bombay, etc).
Richa Mohan, who is the Director of Cinematography of this film has graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, in Mass Communication & Videography and has actively been a part of various short films and ad film projects. Her Degree Film, “Hey Dev!” was selected and screened at various film festivals including the Kolkata Short Film Festival. Being a part of a leading advertising agency ad films conceptualized by her for various brands were aired nationally. She has also been a part of TV shows like Amazing Race, AXN.
The music has been composed by ‘Jack Rabbit’. The music group is lead by Utsav Guha Thakurta and Aritra Dutta Gupta. The title track has been sung by Debajib Das. The lyrics have been composed by Tirthankar Guha Thakurta.
Screenings:
The film was screened at a conference on homosexuality at the Birla Planeteriun Auditorium, Kolkata in 2007, and as the inaugural film at the Siddhatha Gautam Film Fesatival '07, as part of the Rainbow Pride Week in Kolkata. It has also been screened at a conference at the department of Psychiatry, Calcutta National Medical College.
Media Reviews:
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=238543
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/12299.html
For any enquiry about the film "Strangers in the Rain" kindly contact the director at: tirthankar82@yahoo.co.in
Film review by Rahul Deb:
The film is based upon a relationship that the society is yet to accept. The plot revolves around three characters, whose interwoven relationships challenge the conservative straight-jacketed concept of the traditional relations. The director and scriptwriter Tirthankar Guha Thakurta had a brilliant take on the changing social scenario and the tagged concepts of sexual orientations. This is perhaps one of the first films in India, which bases itself on bisexual relationships, and it is rendered a different dimension. One of the characters, Rahul justifies himself by questioning if a straight man can love two women at the same time, why can't a bisexual man love a man and a woman at the same time! I suppose that is true since relations can not be restricted into concepts or genres or any such qualified boundaries, primarily because they are unpredictable - and which perhaps makes them even more beautiful!
The story outlines like so: Rahul and Jojo are together for quite a long time. Rahul is bisexual and Jojo finds himself upset at Rahul liking Piu, a friend of his. Jojo had always assumed Rahul was gay. Here the story challenges the boundaries of relationships when the quite unconventional identity of a bisexual is revealed. It also accuses general social assumptions and shows Jojo’s mistake in assuming his friend Rahul’s orientation, even when he is a homosexual himself! However later he accepts Rahul and the most important part of the film starts. Rahul reveals the peculiar situation in which he is in at that time. He feels warm for both, Jojo and Piu. There exists no conditions and no limits. This is where Piu finally decides, that if Rahul has feelings for both of them, they both have same rights over Rahul, and if society does not accept Jojo and Rahul’s marriage, then she and Rahul would not marry either, and would stay together along with Jojo at his place. It seems too overwhelming and diametrically opposing the traditional cycles but the film hands it down in a fine form.
Their fight against the society and its conservations start here. The multifaceted nature of a relationship is shown here which includes love, care, acceptance and obviously a tinge of jealousy and possessiveness. The character of Piu at first shows a huge level of acceptance and sacrifice, as she leaves her family and against their disapproval, continues her live in relationship with Rahul and Jojo.the society takes its full course on them as they struggle for a better living place. at last how ever finding it, they settle down together. The story takes another interesting turn as Piu becomes pregnant with Rahul’s child .At this issue she faces a wall of resistance at her work place and she isforced to quit! She finally gives birth to Rahul’child Bittu. Though she misunderstood Jojo, at once but being a doctor Jojo always assisted them.The whole story comes out in the words of Bittu, the child of Piu. He has grown up and settled in life. Bittu discloses this whole story to one of his lady journalist friend, in a rainy evening. He speaks of how he was brought up by his three parents Rahul, Piu and Jojo. The words really touch us when he says that he wonders how a person like Jojo who has just got only hatred from the society, can be such an endless source of love and care.
Perhaps love is not a habit to learn but an inherent human behavior which comes as spontaneously as the rain on the ground below, without any distinction or discrimination! However at the end Bittu speaks of the fateful day when Piu’s parents come to their place and in the absence of Piu and Rahul threatens Jojo. Now the realization dawns on Jojo that if he stays with them any more, the curse of the social discrimination would fall on little Bittu and ruin his tender heart! So for the sake of Bittu, Jojo leaves the family for good.Bittu is deserted of one of his three parents, and perhaps the most special one! But now Bittu is an adult and now he feels he would find his Jojo again. Some relations cannot be defined, like that between the earth and the sky, the flower and the dewdrops and perhaps that between Jojo and Bittu. Perhaps the dictionary of social knowledge does not recognize
them or perhaps words fall short to describe their relationship and in both the conditions their relation remain undefined and they stay as just strangers, the strangers in the rain…
The film remains as an unputdownable venture from director Tirthankar .The acting skills of the actors can definitely be developed, but looking at the shoestring budget of the film and the technicalities we can definitely rank the performances as above expectations! The film‘s length is about 30 minutes and hence is quite precise. The editing of the film is brilliant and this is where it captivates! The sets used look natural (as according to the budget). But the best part of the film is the only song that it has. The song’s lyrics is composed by the director himself and the music is composed by ‘Jack Rabbit’. The song is simple but somewhere it touches our heart with its soft, deep-seated melody! The film proves that effort and sincerity can really make a difference! Thumbs up to the doctor and director Tirthankar!
Synopis :
Three friends with varying sexual orientations decide to live together. The story unfolds as they pass through the adversities of living through unconventional relationships, in a society too closeted with its straight-jacketed perception of morality.
Story, Script and Direction: Tirthankar Guha Thakurta
Director of Cinematography: Richa Mohan
Assistant Directors: Rupesh Chaudhuri, Richa Mohan, Anupam HazraMusic: Jack Rabbit
About The film
The Film is an experimental effort by a group of amateur filmmakers. Shot on a handycam, on a shoestring budget, it was a pleasant exercise of story telling. Three friends with varying sexual orientations decide to live together. The story unfolds as they pass through the adversities of living through unconventional relationships in a society too closeted with its straight-jacketed perception of morality. They have a child who grows up in their loving care, until a weird sequence of events forces one of them to leave home. The story is narrated as the child, now grown-up, speaks to a journalist friend about the lives of his three parents.
About the filmmakers :
This is the second directorial venture of Tirthankar Guha Thakurta, based on a story, and script written by him. His debut film ‘Piku Bhalo Achhey’ (Piku is fine) which he made with his friends as a second year medical student, received critical acclaim in various film festival around the world (2nd ICMSC, Bangalore; 10th Kolkata International Film Festival [Short Film section]; Alliance Françoise, Chennai; SGFF 2005, Kolkata; etc) and at various workshops and conferences (Bangkok, Brighton, Bombay, etc).
Richa Mohan, who is the Director of Cinematography of this film has graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, in Mass Communication & Videography and has actively been a part of various short films and ad film projects. Her Degree Film, “Hey Dev!” was selected and screened at various film festivals including the Kolkata Short Film Festival. Being a part of a leading advertising agency ad films conceptualized by her for various brands were aired nationally. She has also been a part of TV shows like Amazing Race, AXN.
The music has been composed by ‘Jack Rabbit’. The music group is lead by Utsav Guha Thakurta and Aritra Dutta Gupta. The title track has been sung by Debajib Das. The lyrics have been composed by Tirthankar Guha Thakurta.
Screenings:
The film was screened at a conference on homosexuality at the Birla Planeteriun Auditorium, Kolkata in 2007, and as the inaugural film at the Siddhatha Gautam Film Fesatival '07, as part of the Rainbow Pride Week in Kolkata. It has also been screened at a conference at the department of Psychiatry, Calcutta National Medical College.
Media Reviews:
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=238543
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/12299.html
For any enquiry about the film "Strangers in the Rain" kindly contact the director at: tirthankar82@yahoo.co.in
Film review by Rahul Deb:
The film is based upon a relationship that the society is yet to accept. The plot revolves around three characters, whose interwoven relationships challenge the conservative straight-jacketed concept of the traditional relations. The director and scriptwriter Tirthankar Guha Thakurta had a brilliant take on the changing social scenario and the tagged concepts of sexual orientations. This is perhaps one of the first films in India, which bases itself on bisexual relationships, and it is rendered a different dimension. One of the characters, Rahul justifies himself by questioning if a straight man can love two women at the same time, why can't a bisexual man love a man and a woman at the same time! I suppose that is true since relations can not be restricted into concepts or genres or any such qualified boundaries, primarily because they are unpredictable - and which perhaps makes them even more beautiful!
The story outlines like so: Rahul and Jojo are together for quite a long time. Rahul is bisexual and Jojo finds himself upset at Rahul liking Piu, a friend of his. Jojo had always assumed Rahul was gay. Here the story challenges the boundaries of relationships when the quite unconventional identity of a bisexual is revealed. It also accuses general social assumptions and shows Jojo’s mistake in assuming his friend Rahul’s orientation, even when he is a homosexual himself! However later he accepts Rahul and the most important part of the film starts. Rahul reveals the peculiar situation in which he is in at that time. He feels warm for both, Jojo and Piu. There exists no conditions and no limits. This is where Piu finally decides, that if Rahul has feelings for both of them, they both have same rights over Rahul, and if society does not accept Jojo and Rahul’s marriage, then she and Rahul would not marry either, and would stay together along with Jojo at his place. It seems too overwhelming and diametrically opposing the traditional cycles but the film hands it down in a fine form.
Their fight against the society and its conservations start here. The multifaceted nature of a relationship is shown here which includes love, care, acceptance and obviously a tinge of jealousy and possessiveness. The character of Piu at first shows a huge level of acceptance and sacrifice, as she leaves her family and against their disapproval, continues her live in relationship with Rahul and Jojo.the society takes its full course on them as they struggle for a better living place. at last how ever finding it, they settle down together. The story takes another interesting turn as Piu becomes pregnant with Rahul’s child .At this issue she faces a wall of resistance at her work place and she isforced to quit! She finally gives birth to Rahul’child Bittu. Though she misunderstood Jojo, at once but being a doctor Jojo always assisted them.The whole story comes out in the words of Bittu, the child of Piu. He has grown up and settled in life. Bittu discloses this whole story to one of his lady journalist friend, in a rainy evening. He speaks of how he was brought up by his three parents Rahul, Piu and Jojo. The words really touch us when he says that he wonders how a person like Jojo who has just got only hatred from the society, can be such an endless source of love and care.
Perhaps love is not a habit to learn but an inherent human behavior which comes as spontaneously as the rain on the ground below, without any distinction or discrimination! However at the end Bittu speaks of the fateful day when Piu’s parents come to their place and in the absence of Piu and Rahul threatens Jojo. Now the realization dawns on Jojo that if he stays with them any more, the curse of the social discrimination would fall on little Bittu and ruin his tender heart! So for the sake of Bittu, Jojo leaves the family for good.Bittu is deserted of one of his three parents, and perhaps the most special one! But now Bittu is an adult and now he feels he would find his Jojo again. Some relations cannot be defined, like that between the earth and the sky, the flower and the dewdrops and perhaps that between Jojo and Bittu. Perhaps the dictionary of social knowledge does not recognize
them or perhaps words fall short to describe their relationship and in both the conditions their relation remain undefined and they stay as just strangers, the strangers in the rain…The film remains as an unputdownable venture from director Tirthankar .The acting skills of the actors can definitely be developed, but looking at the shoestring budget of the film and the technicalities we can definitely rank the performances as above expectations! The film‘s length is about 30 minutes and hence is quite precise. The editing of the film is brilliant and this is where it captivates! The sets used look natural (as according to the budget). But the best part of the film is the only song that it has. The song’s lyrics is composed by the director himself and the music is composed by ‘Jack Rabbit’. The song is simple but somewhere it touches our heart with its soft, deep-seated melody! The film proves that effort and sincerity can really make a difference! Thumbs up to the doctor and director Tirthankar!
Contact Info:
Email: tirthankar82@yahoo.co.in
Piku Bhalo Achhey (Piku Is Fine)
Piku Bhalo Achhey (Piku Is Fine) was my first experimental venture to make a film, as a medical student with no experience in film making ever! All that I had as resources were a bunch of lovely college buddies, and a handycam!
Synopsis:
The film deals with the journey of a young gay boy towards self acceptance.
Story, Script & Direction: Tirthankar Guha Thakurta
Cinematography: Sayak Ghatak
Asst. Director: Sayantan Dasgupta
Playback: Arunima kisku, Gargi Ganguli
Film review by The Telegraph: (Nisha Lahiri)
It was a moment's decision, but based on a lifetime of experiences. For Tirthankar Guha Thakurta, making the film Piku Bhalo Aachhey (Piku Is Fine) was meant to pass the time between the end of exams and the start of classes. But the theme of homosexuality turned the film into a vehicle of change.
In 2004, the student of Calcutta National Medical College got together some friends who decided making a film would be a useful way to fill the time gap. What began with about five expanded to a group of 22 friends and family members. After a shooting schedule of about four-and-a-half days spread over a month, Piku Bhalo Aachhey was born.
"I chose the theme from my own experience, because I thought the LGBT (lesbi
an, gay, bisexual and transgender) issue was important, to highlight the problems faced by these people and to dispel misconceptions in society", says the final-year medical student.
The film making was the result of a concerted effort (story, script and direction, as well as playing the lead role of Piku, was Tirthankar). Cinematographer Sayak Ghosh used his handycam to shoot the film, one of the lead actors, Anirban Ghosh, offered his home as the set while assistant director Sayantan Das Gupta, like everyone else, did a bit of everything.
In 2004, the student of Calcutta National Medical College got together some friends who decided making a film would be a useful way to fill the time gap. What began with about five expanded to a group of 22 friends and family members. After a shooting schedule of about four-and-a-half days spread over a month, Piku Bhalo Aachhey was born.
"I chose the theme from my own experience, because I thought the LGBT (lesbi
an, gay, bisexual and transgender) issue was important, to highlight the problems faced by these people and to dispel misconceptions in society", says the final-year medical student.The film making was the result of a concerted effort (story, script and direction, as well as playing the lead role of Piku, was Tirthankar). Cinematographer Sayak Ghosh used his handycam to shoot the film, one of the lead actors, Anirban Ghosh, offered his home as the set while assistant director Sayantan Das Gupta, like everyone else, did a bit of everything.
A still from Piku Bhalo achhey
with Piku( Tirthankar) and Neel (Sayantan)
"It was a group effort. Only the editing was done in a studio. We couldn't find someone willing to play Piku?s mother, so my mother did it," Tirthankar smiles. The hardest part, he confesses, was writing the script.
The story is about a student who is ridiculed and harassed by his college mates because of his homosexuality, while his family can't fathom the concept when he comes out. It debuted in June last year at the 2nd International Conference on Masculinity, Sexuality and Culture in South Asia in Bangalore. Since, it has been screened at the Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival organised by SAATHII in Calcutta for the past two years as well as numerous events on LGBT and HIV/AIDS in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.
"At first, I was apprehensive about the reception the film would receive. The true test was at the 10th Kolkata Film Festival at Nandan in December, because this was open to the public, where people already sensitised and aware of the issue weren't the only ones watching. There were even children at the screening. Initially, the audience laughed at Piku and understood the sentiments of those who harassed him. Towards the end, several sympathised with Piku. Many of them spoke to me afterwards, saying they were touched. That, for me, was the best experience", says the 22-year-old.
Although Tirthankar is reluctant to speak about his forthcoming project, which he has already started on, there are several issues he wants to address, like friendships between homosexual and heterosexual men, bisexuality and child rights. "I have received great support from Calcutta audiences and the media", he signs off.
Screenings:
The film ‘Piku Bhalo Achhey’ (Piku is fine) which was made with my friends as a second
year medical student, received critical acclaim in various film festival around the world (2nd ICMSC, Bangalore; 10th Kolkata International Film Festival [Short Film section]; Alliance Françoise, Chennai; SGFF 2005 and 2007, Kolkata; etc) and at various workshops and conferences (Bangkok, Brighton, Bombay, Kolkata, etc).
year medical student, received critical acclaim in various film festival around the world (2nd ICMSC, Bangalore; 10th Kolkata International Film Festival [Short Film section]; Alliance Françoise, Chennai; SGFF 2005 and 2007, Kolkata; etc) and at various workshops and conferences (Bangkok, Brighton, Bombay, Kolkata, etc).
Tirthankar Guha Thakurta (right) and Anupam Hazra from SAATHII Calcutta prior to the screening of "Piku Bhalo Aachhey" (Piku Is Fine) at the 2nd International Conference on Masculinities, Sexualities and Culture in South Asia,
held from June 9 to 13, 2004, at Bangalore.
Picture: Pawan Dhall
Media reviews:
Reviews on the film can be read by kindly visiting the following media links:
http://www.mail-archive.com/gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com/msg02288.html
http://gaybombay.org/event/film_fest_may_05.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1114727.cms
http://gaybombay.org/event/film_fest_may_05.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1114727.cms
Contact info:
For any details about the film, kindly contact the director at: tirthankar82@yahoo.co.in
Being Piku and Being Fine
Being a doctor was never a choice I preferred. It was sheer (mis)fortune that landed me up there. However, at the end of my six years that I spent at the Calcutta National Medical College, I feel it was not that bad either. After all it was my college that had instilled in me the courage to be the content gay man out of the morose depressed boy that I was, at the end of my terrifying school years, where a series of ostracism followed when I came out to my classmates in class seven.
I never chose to be gay just as my parents never chose to be straight. But I definitely chose to remain gay (literally so!), as a straight jacket (which was definitely never mine) would have suffocated me to death much before I would have breathed my last. I came out in my college to one of my friends when I was in the second year, and subsequently to others. The grown up kids in the college never reacted like my pals at my school. They were receptive, supportive and at least unbothered by the fact that one of their batchmate is gay!
Many popular misconceptions that only girls can be best friends, or that only a person from the sexual minorities can feel the agony of another, and the like, broke and molded as I passed through this wonderful journey in my college.
We had a short vacation following our second year board finals. We planned to make a film in the spare time with the minimum resources we managed to bring together ( which included a handycam for shooting and a friend’s house as venue). We got the necessary financial support and networking from SAATHII, an NGO that works on HIV/AIDS issues. The film called Piku Bhalo Achhey (Piku Is Fine) was an autobiographical sketch of a gay boy’s journey into self acceptance. This was the time I felt I needed to come out to my mother. I decided to play honest.
A lady in her mid-forties from a conservative Bengali family took her time to accept that her son is gay. But when she agreed to play the role of Piku’s mother in my film (where I played the role of Piku) I knew she was acting out her acceptance.
Thereafter there was no looking back. My mother and other friends feared persecution in the hands of my college authorities when my personal interviews started coming out in the press. Many of my good friends who took active part in the making of the film, refused to be seen in the same frame with me in the news articles. When however the press reacted with applause, much of their apprehension was gone.
A second round of bigger fight began when I was studying the clinical subjects. The sheer lack of information and concern about the LGBT issues among the faculty had often led to long drawn arguments between me and my teachers. I remember teasing the nerve out of a senior professor of psychiatry department for making a homophobic comment at a seminar on adolescent health issues. In the end she had to admit that she was wrong.
A bigger ride of success came when I managed to secure the single seat that was reserved for house-staffship at the psychiatry department. Now I feel so content when a patient comes to me with the complaint of being homosexual, and after a few rounds of counseling gets back confidently to search for his heartthrob. Not all staffs of our department are sensitive to sexuality issues, and I enjoy the little verbal fights that I often have, to put across my views.
However a bigger realization that has surfaced through these experiences is that, support in any form can come mixed with unwanted sympathy or pretensions. The best support is the one, I feel, that comes from your own heart – when Piku stands in front of his mirror, faces himself, and says “ Piku is fine”.
I never chose to be gay just as my parents never chose to be straight. But I definitely chose to remain gay (literally so!), as a straight jacket (which was definitely never mine) would have suffocated me to death much before I would have breathed my last. I came out in my college to one of my friends when I was in the second year, and subsequently to others. The grown up kids in the college never reacted like my pals at my school. They were receptive, supportive and at least unbothered by the fact that one of their batchmate is gay!
Many popular misconceptions that only girls can be best friends, or that only a person from the sexual minorities can feel the agony of another, and the like, broke and molded as I passed through this wonderful journey in my college.
We had a short vacation following our second year board finals. We planned to make a film in the spare time with the minimum resources we managed to bring together ( which included a handycam for shooting and a friend’s house as venue). We got the necessary financial support and networking from SAATHII, an NGO that works on HIV/AIDS issues. The film called Piku Bhalo Achhey (Piku Is Fine) was an autobiographical sketch of a gay boy’s journey into self acceptance. This was the time I felt I needed to come out to my mother. I decided to play honest.
A lady in her mid-forties from a conservative Bengali family took her time to accept that her son is gay. But when she agreed to play the role of Piku’s mother in my film (where I played the role of Piku) I knew she was acting out her acceptance.
Thereafter there was no looking back. My mother and other friends feared persecution in the hands of my college authorities when my personal interviews started coming out in the press. Many of my good friends who took active part in the making of the film, refused to be seen in the same frame with me in the news articles. When however the press reacted with applause, much of their apprehension was gone.
A second round of bigger fight began when I was studying the clinical subjects. The sheer lack of information and concern about the LGBT issues among the faculty had often led to long drawn arguments between me and my teachers. I remember teasing the nerve out of a senior professor of psychiatry department for making a homophobic comment at a seminar on adolescent health issues. In the end she had to admit that she was wrong.
A bigger ride of success came when I managed to secure the single seat that was reserved for house-staffship at the psychiatry department. Now I feel so content when a patient comes to me with the complaint of being homosexual, and after a few rounds of counseling gets back confidently to search for his heartthrob. Not all staffs of our department are sensitive to sexuality issues, and I enjoy the little verbal fights that I often have, to put across my views.
However a bigger realization that has surfaced through these experiences is that, support in any form can come mixed with unwanted sympathy or pretensions. The best support is the one, I feel, that comes from your own heart – when Piku stands in front of his mirror, faces himself, and says “ Piku is fine”.
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