Dear Students Who are Afraid,
Life in Kolkata is not easy. Sure India has the largest democracy in the world, the largest middle-class in the world, a fast growing economy and more talent than anywhere except maybe the US. But India also has poverty unlike any developed nation. In sixty years it has come far, but it still has a long way to go.
Today I saw another aspect of India that blew me away. Pride. As in The Kolkata pride parade, the oldest in India, it started in 1999 with fifteen people and a flag. Today there must have been a thousand people and a float, and a flag that stretched a hundred feet down one side of a street in Kolkata and marched for several blocks. I saw Indian people who had little but were willing to risk it all because love is the more important than a roof over their head or food in their stomach. They were laughing and posing and throwing their arms around each other in a swirling, vibrant energy that made me dance down the street with them. I never thought to put Kolkata's pride parade on my bucket list, but you should, oh you should. Then you can see what pride and bravery and love look like.
By the way, being LGBT in India is not easy. The Supreme Court of India just decriminalized homosexuality, and there are certain groups in India that would like to see it criminalizes again. Parents are slowly starting to support their children, and ironically, it is The American Center in Kolkata that provides a lot of support.
Love is human. And today I saw that love is most important of all.
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