LUCKNOW: Amid a sea of people at Lucknow’s Pride Parade held in March was a woman holding a placard of ‘Proud Mom’ and walking, cheering the community members as they made their way through the city under the rainbow flag.
Anindita Nandi and her daughter Megha held hands as they marched through the parade, observing, as an anniversary of sorts of a queer identified individual being accepted by her mother.
It was in April 2017 when Anindita first came to know about her daughter’s sexual identity through her elder daughter Varsha. While Megha’s sister tried to convince her mother and made her understand about the community, it was the mother, Anindita’s own realisation that there’s nothing wrong in being queer and that she can’t lose her daughter.
Recounting the day, Anindita says, “It was the first pride of Lucknow in 2017 and Megha was preparing a poster for it. Then, for the first time, she tried to speak and convey to me about her identity, but I couldn’t understand her at the moment. Later, my eldest daughter told me about Megha and that she identifies herself as a lesbian.”
‘There was nothing wrong in identifying as queer’
She made me understand that Megha wants to live her life her own way and needs support and acceptance from the family. There was nothing wrong in identifying as queer. Moreover, Megha never wanted to hide anything from us. This made me realise that if a parent doesn’t accept a child for who they are, it might lead to a wrong decision which may be fatal. I can’t have my child distance herself from me,” Anindita says.
“With time, I learnt about the community and unlearnt the notions that society had taught us,” she added.
Megha (27) is not only openly out with her mother but also lives with her and her partner. “We three live together. She’s like another daughter to me. When Megha isn’t around, we go out shopping, spend time with each other. We are one family,” said the 53-year-old home-maker.
Reminiscing the first pride parade, Anindita said all members of the community embraced her and gave her respect.
“All parents should think from their child’s perspective and accept them for who they are,” she says.
