Hundreds participate in rainbow pride walk in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: When a bunch of tired youngsters dressed in rainbow colours walked into Brundavan Tiffin Centre on Chikkadpally road, the curious owner raised an eyebrow. But observing the sudden rush at his shop, he quickly started taking orders and issuing tokens. The crowd came in from the Hyderabad Queer Swabhimana Yatra. Over 800 queer individuals […]

Hyderabad: When a bunch of tired youngsters dressed in rainbow colours walked into Brundavan Tiffin Centre on Chikkadpally road, the curious owner raised an eyebrow. But observing the sudden rush at his shop, he quickly started taking orders and issuing tokens.

The crowd came in from the Hyderabad Queer Swabhimana Yatra. Over 800 queer individuals and allies took part in the pride march that was held in the city from Baghlingampally to Dharna Chowk after a hiatus of three years.

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As the chants of ‘Azadi’ and ‘teenmaar’ beats reverberated on the streets, representatives from sexualities across the spectrum were at the forefront leading the march. With them were specially-abled members of the community riding along on their two-wheelers.

From trans men and women to people identifying as gay, lesbian and bisexual, the march saw multiple individuals donning the rainbow flag with style. In addition, were allies and energetic youngsters, many of whom were attending pride for the first time.

Of the enthusiastic crowds were Mythri and her three-year-old niece Krithika. “We are here to support the LGBTQ community. She is having a great time here and asked me to especially dress her up for this. All we want to say is that everybody must be accepted irrespective of their gender identity.”

Commencing from Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Bagh Lingampally, the parade concluded at Dharna Chowk, passing by RTC X roads, Gandhi Nagar, and Ashok Nagar.

“It is good to see so many Telugu people embracing the pride march. Earlier a lot of them attended wearing a mask, this time more people are out and about cheering and chanting. This is a positive sign for all of us,” says Kaushik, adding that the number of people increased this year.

Amid placards that slammed homophobia and called for equality was a sign that read, “I love my trans child,” held by an elderly woman whom the crowds dearly called ‘mala aunty’.

“When my child came out, I knew nothing. It is not easy for any parent. But I attempted to understand and educated myself,” she said.

Like her, the owner of the tiffin center also made an attempt. He enthusiastically enquired about the march and complimented the show of vibrant rainbow colours. “Bahut ache hai yeh rang”, he said, smiling and nodding.