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M O N DAY, S E P T E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 0 9
Out of the closet
and into the light
MORE HOMOSEXUALS come out in the open
after section 377 amended
Karthik Balasubramanian
■ htmetro@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: Neelam, a lesbian, is an
events coordinator at the
Humsafar Trust, a prominent
NGO supporting the rights of
the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and
Transgender community.
She joined soon after the July
2 Delhi High Court decree read
down section 377 of the Indian
Penal Code and decriminalised
homosexuality.
According to Kalpita Patil, a
psychologist and counselor at
the Humsafar Trust, Santa Cruz,
Neelam is one of the five lesbians
who have approached the organ-
isation since the amendment —
a sharp increase given that
before the amendment, only one
or two lesbians would approach
the trust in a year.
Patil also adds that gays have
also come forward in increas-
ing numbers. “Before July 2, I
would get about five cases every
month,” she says, “all of them
males. Now, I have received 13
cases for counseling, out of
which five were females or les-
bian couples,” she adds.
The number of people who
approach the organisation
through email or telephone (to
keep their identities secret) has
nearly doubled.
“We would get about 20-25
cases per month through the
telephone or email. Now it has
gone up to 42,” she says.
Neelam’s case stands out as par-
ticularly edifying.
“I was living with a childhood
girlfriend,” she says. “Once the
law was amended, I heard of
Humsafar that took care of peo-
ple like us. After some coun-
seling, I really liked it here and
joined them as an employee,”
she added.
Neelam’s case might seem
like a perfect story of a homo-
sexual benefiting from the
amendment, but Patil points out
that the other cases are not as
smooth.
The divine call is getting fainter
AS FEWER CATHOLICS choose to be priests, community grapples with “vocation crisis”
Aarefa Johari
■ htmetro@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: “One child in every fam-
ily is for God”.
That old saying is finding
very few takers in the Catholic
community today, going by the
dwindling number of Catholic
priests and nuns across the
country.
And the “vocation crisis” is
affecting not just various church
orders, but also the education-
al and social service institutions
they run.
The appointment this month
of the non-religious Alice
Carvalho as principal of St.
Mary’s ISC — a staunch Jesuit
institution — is a glaring exam-
ple.
“There’s been a noticeable
fall in the number of priests at
the national level, particularly
in women’s institutions,” said
Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop
of Bombay, who estimates a 40
per cent drop in his Archdiocese
alone.
Prominent education-based
congregations have also seen
the crunch, including the
Salesians of Don Bosco, the
Franciscan Brothers, and most
prominently the Jesuits, whose
By the citizens, for the citizens
Sayli Udas Mankikar
■ sayli.mankikar@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: After the victory of Juhu
citizen Adolf D’souza in the civic
elections of 2007, there is yet
another D’souza who has taken
on a bigger challenge.
Hansel D’souza (49), who has
been voted the Andheri West
Citizen Consensus Candidate
(CCC), to contest the state
Assembly elections, is a man
who wears many hats.
A management post gradu-
ate from Jamnalal Bajaj
Institute of Management
Studies, Hansel runs his own
advertising agency, trains man-
agement students and is on the
board of educational institutes.
And despite doing all this, the
father of two feels there is much
more to do.
( )( )
Since July 2, I have
received 13 cases for
counseling, out of which
five were females or
lesbian couples
K A L P I TA PAT I L ,
psychologist and counselor at
the Humsafar Trust
“A lesbian couple approached
me (after July 2). One of the
partners wanted the other to
change her sex so that they
could live as a ‘conventional’
couple,” she says.
“Some of the gays who
approach me don’t want to
reveal their sexuality to their
parents. They are just looking
for a way to negotiate the prob-
lems like marriage to a woman,
dealing with being HIV posi-
tive, without coming out of the
closet,” she adds.
Rajan Bhosle, a consultant in
sexual medicine and counselor,
says, “A homosexual cannot
cease to be one. He can at best
develop an attraction for the
opposite sex.”
“There are two types of peo-
ple who come for consultation
— those who want to change
their orientation because they
are themselves not happy with
it, or their family is not, or will
disapprove, and those who want
to live with their homosexuali-
ty, accept themselves for who
they are,” he adds.
Patil, however, is quick to
point out that reasons aside, the
very fact that homosexuals are
approaching the organisation,
especially for face-to-face con-
sultation is an encouraging sign.
Vivek Raj Anand, chief exec-
utive officer of the Humsafar
Trust feels that the amendment
has helped bring out main-
stream homosexual issues in
the Indian community.
“The recent gay pride parade
(on August 16) was a case in
point,” he recalls, “I have never
■ Alice Carvalho is the first non-clergy woman to be appointed principal of St Mary’s School, a staunch
Jesuit institute, in Mazgaon.
numbers have reduced by half
over the last 20 years.
In urban areas, women’s
orders like the Sisters of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, which
runs the prestigious Sophia
College off Pedder Road, have
been affected.
“In the last 12 years, no one
has joined us from Sophia’s, and
the last local Mumbaiite joined
■ Hansel D’Souza with actor Shabana Azmi after he was elected Consensus candidate.
“For 15 years, I have been get-
ting the garbage in my area
cleaned, Juhu beach cleaned. I
am sick of doing work which is
supposed to be done by some-
one else. Now I want to get the
I have never seen such
huge crowds before [gay
parade on August 16].
The law made us famous,
I suppose.
VIVEK RAJ ANAN,
chief executive officer of the
Humsafar Trust
seen such huge crowds before.
The law made us famous, I sup-
pose,” he says.
“I don’t know if how society
views homosexuals will change,”
Patil adds.
“But this amendment may
impel homosexuals to take
active charge of how they view
their sexuality and their sexu-
al identity,” she says.
■ Members of the LGBT com-
munity celebrated after a
Delhi High Court ruling
decriminalised homosexuality.
HEMANT PADALKAR/ HT FILE PHOTO
us 10 years ago,” said Sister
Pratibha, Superior of the con-
gregation.
So why are the young not
interested in priesthood?
“Celibacy is a big deterrent,”
said an amused Ruben
Mascarenhas (21), an engi-
neering student who compares
priests to freedom fighters.
“Everyone wants a priest,
ABOUT ANDHERI (W)
CONSTITUENCY:
POPULATION:
2,73,662
AREAS COVERED:
Juhu to Seven
Bungalows and to
Jogeshwari in the
Western Railway line
job done,” he said addressing a
300-strong crowd gathered at
a hall near SNDT Juhu.
After a two-hour open inter-
view-cum-voting session on
Sunday, Hansel was elected cit-
C A S E ST U D I E S
Why you should opt for counselling
MALE HOMOSEXUALS
AN 18-YEAR-
OLD BOY
started sens-
ing some
homosexual
tendencies in
his behaviour
and was unsure of
his sexual identity, and very
uncomfortable at the thought of
being gay. Patil assured him that
sexual orientation and sexual
identity were different, and what
mattered was to be comfortable
with his sexuality.
Being uncomfortable about his
sexuality would not help in mak-
ing others comfortable about it.
She also explained that the idea
of establishing himself as gay, or
coming out in the open was a
different story.
A 23-YEAR-OLD MALE wanted
to disclose his homosexuality to
but not in their own house. They
want him in the neighbour’s
house,” he said.
That said, priesthood also
demands nine to 12 years of rig-
orous training, a permanent
sacrifice of oneself for others,
austerity and no monetary
remuneration.
And the focus today is on get-
ting children ready for the
Seven Jogeshwari W
Bungalows
ANDHERI W
Juhu
PRODIP GUHA
izen representative.
He also took an oath that
gives the Jagrut Nagrik Manch
(JNM) — the platform on which
the consensus candidate was
selected — the right to recall
his parents. As he was working
in Mumbai, while his parents
were based in Chennai, he
planned to tell them over the
phone. Kalpita Patil counseled
him on how it was important to
tell his parents only when he
met them and also helped him
anticipate his parent's reactions
and gave some advice on how to
handle it.
A MUMBAI BASED 27-YEAR-
OLD male homosexual was
under pressure from his parents
to marry someone, even a HIV
positive woman if necessary. He
approached the organization
and stressed that he did not
wish to reveal his sexual orienta-
tion.
Patil advised that he tell his par-
ents that he was not sure of how
long he had to live and did not
wish to scar a woman's life by
linking his with hers.
( )
There’s been a
noticeable fall in the
number of priests at the
national level, particularly
in women’s institutions.
O S WA L D G R A C I A S ,
Archbishop of Mumbai
increasingly competitive world.
“As Jesus says in the Bible,
one can’t worship money and
God at the same time — the
Gospels predicted this trend
years ago,” said Father Joe
D’Souza of the Church of St.
Ignatius at Jacob Circle.
“For the Church, the prob-
lem is not just about who’ll run
the institutions, but also who’ll
take the community forward,”
said environmental consultant
Samuel Rebello (23).
And so, churches are seeing
a rise in the number of Deacons,
married men who are allowed
some priestly duties.
There is also help from the
youth groups that function in
most churches, allowing the
young to serve the church with-
out joining the vocation.
his candidature if he does not
perform and if 66 per cent mem-
bers vote against him in a review
to be taken in two-and-a-half
years. “I will be guided by an
advisory council and ward com-
mittee representatives who will
keep me connected to my voter
and his issues,” he said.
Right now, Hansel is busy
strategising.
With meetings lined up from
Monday, he has asked all his
area representatives to gather
every day 100 people who he
will address at the meetings.
And what about the money
for doing all this?
“Like the civic elections, we
will pass a bag around after
every meeting. What is impor-
tant is whatever I do should
reach and benefit the last man
in the line,” he said.
LESBIANS
A LESBIAN
COUPLE who
had been
together for 3
months wanted
to marry rather than
just live together. But one of the
partners wanted the other to
change her sex so that the couple
could be identified as heterosexu-
al. The partner simply could not
face the thought of a sex change
operation. Patil advised the cou-
ple about the long lasting effects
of a sex change operation and
also that changing one's sex after
a 3 month long relationship may
be difficult and urged them to
make a decision amenable to
both.
A 25-YEAR-OLD GIRL was
attracted toward the same sex
but did not want to identify her-
self as a lesbian because, since
childhood she had wanted to be a
biological male, and had come to
counseling to enquire about
Sexual Reassignment Surgery or
a sex change operation. She was
referred to team of experts and
was explained the mental, biolog-
ical and behavioural aspects of a
sex change operation, and was
advised to think upon these mat-
ters before going for an SRS.
Sophia, a 24-year-old girl was in
a relationship with another girl
(22) for the past two years. The
latter's family shifted from the city
after they came to know of the
relationship and forced both to
come clean about the relation-
ship. The girl who had shifted cut
off contact with the Sophia.
Feeling betrayed but wanting her
back, Sophia was not able to
cope with the trauma of the sepa-
ration and was contemplating sui-
cide. Patil managed to break
through Sophia's inhibitions and
helped her come to terms with
her loss and overcome her suici-
dal feelings.
COPS’ KIDS TO
GET FREE IIT
COACHING
Serena Menon
■ serena.menon@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: The success of the civic
body’s free coaching classes for
IIT aspirants from civic schools
has inspired the police to do the
same for children of its per-
sonnel.
They have launched a pro-
gramme of free coaching class-
es for competitive examinations
for the children of constables
and sub-inspectors.
Over 80 aspirants from
Classes 8 and 11 appeared for
aptitude test at the Naigaon
police headquarters on
Saturday. The selection will be
on the basis of the test results,
and the students can attend
classes at any of the eight
coaching centres run by
IITian’s Pace for free.
Additional Police
Commissioner, Sandeep
Bishnoi, had contacted Praveen
Tyagi, founder of IITian’s Pace,
after the success of the coach-
ing classes.
IITian’s Pace charges Rs 2.5
lakh per year to train a student.
“The city police are always
on the job, keeping our city safe.
This is the least that we can do
for them,” said Tyagi.
WEATHER FORECAST
H I N D U STA N T I M E S , M U M B A I
Deal done
■ Captain Girish Kaushik, president of National Aviators Guild
(right) with Saroj Dutta, Jet Airways executive director after
their press conference on Sunday.
ADVISORY
Domestic passengers can call
Jet call center no 39893333,
SMS Jet (flight no) to 56355 or
log on to jetairways.com to re-
confirm flight timings. Airline
may combine consecutive flights
to the same destination until
SW I N E F LU S C A R E
Wadia Hospital
closes its ICU
after 2 deaths
HT Correspondent
■ htmetro@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: Wadia Hospital in Parel
has closed down its paediatric
Intensive Care Unit for fumi-
gation as two infants who were
admitted there succumbed to
swine flu on Saturday.
The hospital has also sent the
throat swabs of all other chil-
dren who were admitted at the
unit to the National Institute of
Virology in Pune for tests.
The hospital authorities were
unavailable for comment on the
death of eight-month-old
Atharv Dongre and one-year-
old Gaurav who died within a
few hours of being transferred
to Nair Hospital and
Hiranandani Hospital respec-
tively.
The Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation has
instituted an inquiry into the
deaths, as doctors at Wadia
Hospital did not administer
InnerVoice
Dreams are the seeds
Babita Kejriwal
■ htmetro@hindustantimes.com
W TWICE: ONCE IN OUR
E all have great
dreams, great visions
right from the inno-
cent times of our childhood.
But due to lack of encour-
agement from our elders and
contemporaries, they fade away
to the darkness of some remote
corners of our hearts.
Some very predominant
ones may be rekindled in
future, depending on many fac-
tors, whereas others just with-
er and die down.
But if we know the laws of
life, the abundance waiting for
us, we will not find any of our
goals worthless. If we have suf-
ficient belief in ourselves, if we
can envision its happening in
our minds, we will surely attain
success.
It is said that each thing is
achieved twice in our lives: once
in our minds and the other in
reality.
The universe is waiting to
give us everything; it is up to
us to take it or leave it.
If we focus a lot on our goals,
dream of our successes, we are
ensuring its fulfillment. No
dream is impossible.
VIJAYANAND GUPTA / HT PHOTO
operations become normal.
Domestic flight tickets will be
available at a 50 per cent dis-
count on September 14, 15 and
16, to passengers concluding
their journey before
September 18.
Tamiflu to the infants even after
their throat swabs were taken.
Infants, pregnant women and
those suffering from other ail-
ments like diabetes are consid-
ered high-risk patients and
should be been given Tamiflu
immediately, city doctors have
prescribed.
“We have demanded an
explanation from Wadia
Hospital authorities. We will
take action accordingly,” said
Additional Municipal
Commissioner Manisha
Mhaiskar.
On Sunday, 23 more people
tested positive, taking the total
number of confirmed cases in
the city to 959.
Over 170 people were
screened.
Of them 99 were put on
Tamiflu and 14 were admitted
to hospitals across the city.
Five patients, who have been
admitted to Kasturba and Nair
Hospitals, are on ventilator.
IT IS SAID THAT EACH
THING IS ACHIEVED
MINDS AND THE OTHER
IN REALITY
I read a story of a young girl
with spectacles, who wanted
to be a pilot.
In those times it was not
allowed, but her father encour-
aged her and assured that her
dream will come true. When
she grew up, aviation rules
changed and pilots with spec-
tacles were allowed.
My father-in-law dreamt of
building his own bungalow in
his young days, though it
seemed impossible at that time,
yet he nurtured his dream and
did it in later times.
Let us cultivate the fertile
minds of all, including children.
Let the children become what-
ever they wish. Allow them to
live life king-size, broaden their
horizons and meet all their
dreams with open arms.
All you have to do is to
encourage and give them your
support. And see their dreams
turning into realities.