Gay marriage in kolkata

'Why Can't We Have Our Own Family?': Story Behind Kolkata's First Public Same-sex Marriage

In the backdrop of Supreme Court hearings seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage, one of India's first gay couples to formalise their wedding speaks to Outlook about their unique love story, the experience of being part of a Hindu social marriage and why marriage is an key social and political right for the LGBT community.

Shreya Basak

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Abhishek and Chaitanya at their social wedding.

Abhishek Ray, a famous fashion designer in Kolkata, and Chaitanya Sharma, a digital marketing expert based in Gurgaon, were the first gay couple in India to have a formal, social wedding in Kolkata on July 3, It received immense love and back along with hatred. In the backdrop of Supreme Court hearings seeking legal recognition of gay marriage, the couple spoke to Outlook's Shreya Basak about their unusual love story, the experience of being part of a Hindu social marriage and why m

Picture a typical wedding. What do you see? Chaos, clamour, beauty. Roses and rajanigandha swaying against a gentle breeze, women pirouetting in colourful attire; uncles gossiping, aunties judging and Bollywood’s most predictable shaadi songs blaring out of the speakers. This shared imagery got an uncommon twist in July last year, when fashion architect and professor, Abhishek Ray, and digital marketer, Chaitanya Sharma decided to fling caution to the wind and tie the knot in a ceremony with all the trimmings of the Big Fat Indian Wedding.

“Honestly, I didn’t wish to do it in a big way. I just wanted a one-day affair, where we exchange rings, get a cake and throw a great party. But Chaitanya was the one who wanted to have a haldi, mehendi, sangeet and every other possible ceremony with all the singing and dancing. Like a massive fat Indian wedding. Initially, I was apprehensive but then, I thought, why not? Let’s do it,” muses Ray, who met his partner via frequent friends on Facebook.

As the first gay couple to have a social wedding in t

'We are not living with dignity': Queer couple who tied the knot seeks legalisation of lgbtq+ marriage
Abhishek Ray and Chaitanya Sharma, a gay couple, made headlines last year after they tied the knot in a grand social wedding as per Hindu rituals in Kolkata.
Abhishek, a fashion designer from Kolkata, met Chaitanya, a digital marketing veteran from Gurugram, on Facebook in
It's almost a year that Abhishek and Chaitanya tied the knot. And as the Supreme Court, after a marathon hearing on pleas seeking the legalisation of same-sex marriage, reserved its directive, the couple common their post-wedding journey and talked about the need for a legal framework to guard queer marriages in the country.
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It’s almost a year to your wedding. What caring of reaction contain you two got? Did you tackle apathy?
Abhishek: Yes, there is apathy, but there is also a lot of love. Ours was a close-knit wedding with almost people, including our families. The apathy we received was on social media. However, we were mentally prepared.
We received a lot of praise th

India Supreme Court declines to legalise same-sex marriage
Geeta Pandey
BBC News, Delhi
EPA
India's Supreme Court has declined to legalise same-sex unions, dashing the hopes of millions of LGBTQ+ people seeking marriage equality.
The court instead standard the government's offer to set up a panel to consider granting more legal rights and benefits to same-sex couples.
Activists and same-sex couples said they were disappointed by the judgement and would continue their campaign.
The court was considering 21 petitions by same-sex couples and activists.
The five-judge bench had held extensive hearings in April and May and the deliberations were "livestreamed in public interest".
The petitioners had argued that not being able to unite violated their constitutional rights and made them "second-class citizens".
They had suggested that the court could just replace "man" and "woman" with "spouse" in the Special Marriage Perform - which allows marriage between people from other religions, castes and