India has always been considered orthodox in the terms of accepting homosexuality. Every now and then we witness events and stories related to homophobia, non acceptance and inequality against the LGBTQIA community. Despite all these shackles, a Gurugram based woman came out to her grandfather as gay and his reaction was something she didn’t predict. She shared this heart warming story on Twitter and people had nothing but praises and love for the duo.
She took over twitter to express her happiness about having an open conversation about her sexuality with her grandfather for the first time.
I’m so so overwhelmed right now. My super conservative grandfather spoke to me face to face for the the first time ever about my sexuality and I can’t deal.As posted on Twitter
She mentioned in her thread how marriage has always been a pressure on her for the past 8 years. Being the eldest daughter from her father’s side, her grandfather has been wanting her to marry for a long time despite her constantly saying she did not want to. For her even the very idea of coming out to him had felt dreadful as he is a conservative man with strong religious beliefs.
But then, one day when her father found a way of telling grand dad, the results proved to be quite different from what she had once feared.
This year, I was traveling for work on my birthday. And it was my 31st. Now 31 is a huge deal. It’s way too old to be single - a lot of people would believe. Out of habit, my grandad told my dad to get me married this year too on my birthday. Later that day, my dad forwarded my grandad the video of my talkshow with Suhani Kohli about my coming out story and life. I don’t think I’ve EVER had a more heartwarming conversation with my grandad. His reaction was literally the only one I was most scared about.As posted on Twitter
The reaction she received from her grand dad wasn’t anything close to what she expected. He told her how he finds her grand daughter extremely courageous and would’ve supported her even if she came out earlier to him, though he still wishes that she gets married one day.
If an 86 year old conservative, hardcore shastra believing religious follower can come around and accept that his oldest granddaughter is gay, without probably fully understanding what it means, I’m sure we can all be a lot more accepting and patient with people around us.As posted on Twitter
Her grand father despite being an 86 year old, conservative and deeply religious, understood his grand daughter when she came out to him and shared the stories of her life and struggles. The 86 year old gentleman’s response is a learning for all of us on how orientation alone can never fully define the kind of person you are and makes you no different or less than anyone. We wish that every person who’s battling with their own stories and struggles gets a loving and supporting family like this.
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