377

MANISH JANI

Notion Press

Old No. 38, New No. 6

McNichols Road, Chetpet

Chennai - 600 031

First Published by Notion Press 2015

Copyright © Manish Jani 2015

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 978-93-5206-337-6

This book has been published in good faith that the work of the author is original. All efforts have been taken to make the material error-free. However, the author and the publisher disclaim the responsibility.

No part of this book may be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Preface

Ihave never felt physical attraction to any man and I am sure I never will, for the rest of my life. However, I can understand if a person feels that way with another person of the same sex. It is just human to be physically and emotionally attracted to another person, regardless of sex. It does not matter whether it is an inclination pre-built into one’s body by the Creator or a lifestyle choice. It is a fact of life that same sex relationships have existed in the world for centuries and will continue to exist in coming years. My question is - who are we to get involved in a matter so private to other people? Who are we to force them to live a certain way, using a legal system to govern these things?

I have had an opportunity to work with and also have been friends with persons in same sex relationships. They are just like any other co-workers or friends of mine. Their sexual practices and preferences are none of my business. I hardly even think of them as gay or homosexual persons. To me, they are just people.

Every time I read a newspaper or magazine article on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, I think about the homosexual people I know. Do they deserve to be treated as criminals? Do they deserve to be discriminated by the law based on their sexual orientation? Laws are meant to foster equality among people. If a law does not do that, and actually promotes discrimination, it should be amended.

With these feelings from the bottom of my heart, I endeavored to write this story that highlights the social stigma that prevails against homosexuals and legal predicaments they face in their lives. There have been popular, but absurd stereotypes around the gay and lesbian community that are prevalent in different countries and cultures. As part of this story, I have made a humble attempt to break some of these stereotypes with a hope to encourage the readers to treat gay people as people, and not as aliens who landed on earth from a distant planet.

Finally, I hope that Section 377 of the IPC is amended, in order to decriminalize consensual physical relationships between same sex adults. It will be a proud moment for the people of India.

Prologue

S upreme Court upholds section 377 criminalizing homosexual sex

New Delhi: Wednesday, December 11, 2013: In a tremendous blow to lakhs of homosexuals in India, the Apex Court today criminalized consensual sex among same sex adult partners, again. The Supreme Court overturned an earlier High Court verdict that had amended a law framed in 1860. The Supreme Court declared Section 377 as constitutional and opined that amending or repealing this law should be left to the Parliament.

In July 2009, in a landmark judgement, Delhi High Court had overturned a portion of 150-years-old Section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), legalizing consensual homosexual activities between adults. The essence of the section goes against the fundamental right of the citizens, the High Court had stated while striking it down. In a 105-page judgement, a bench of Chief Justices had said that if it was not amended, Section 377 of the IPC would violate Article 14 of the Constitution of India, which states that every citizen has the equal opportunity of life and is equal before law.

Aneri put the newspaper down on the table with a sigh. Life is indeed not fair, someone should fix this! Oblivious of the storm that was about to hit her life, she pondered for a while sympathizing with people affected by the verdict. Coming back to reality, she thought, It is already 8:00 AM. If I have to make it to the hospital on time, I have to leave now.

Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O India,

And there is exaltation of unrighteousness,

I myself come forth;

For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil,

For the sake of firmly establishing righteousness,

I am born from age to age.

1

J ay Shri Krishna, Dad! Aneri answered her phone with a wide smile on her face. She pulled up a chair to the huge balcony in her flat and made herself comfortable. It had been a couple of days since she had spoken to her parents and she felt like talking to them for hours together.

Within a month after moving from Mumbai to Delhi, she was homesick like never before. She had been away from home by herself and with friends quite a few times on trips that lasted for over a month. But in all those trips, there was excitement around, visiting exotic places around the world that didn’t even give her time to get homesick. There was also the fact that she knew she was going to be back home once the vacation was over.

But this was different. She wanted to follow her passion and a move to Delhi was a must. She wanted to give her patients a really good quality of life, and not just a life. It was also advice from her father to get out of her comfort zone and follow her dream. Just for her, he had bought this flat in Saket, one of the most upscale neighborhoods in Delhi. It was close to the hospital where she was planning to work. The interiors and the furniture were just to her taste and nothing short of luxurious. She had a full-time driver on duty to drive her around in the luxury car that her father had gifted to her on her last birthday. The work environment at the hospital was fantastic. Within a short span of under a month, she had performed more than nine surgeries and she had gained respect from doctors in the hospital for her skills.

But, she missed home. She missed waking up early in the morning and walking to Juhu beach for a refreshing jog. She missed sitting outside on a chair in their lawn at home, facing the beach late at night, looking at the stars and hearing the continuous sound of the ocean waves. She missed those dinners with her parents at home. She missed the delicious food prepared by Shantabai, their cook. She missed hanging out with her friends in nightclubs, sometimes returning home at around 4:00 AM.

Jay Shri Krishna, Anu dear! Mr. Shah was already sensing that Aneri was sad, Is everything Okay?

I am fine dad, Aneri said, almost choked, trying to withhold tears. I guess I am just missing home.

Hang in there, sweetie. It will pass. How is Abhinav?

He is fine. He is so busy with his work and I too with mine. We do see each other but we don’t really have a lot of time to hang out every single day.

For the next hour, Aneri talked to her father. It was mostly Mr. Shah talking about different topics. Aneri listened to the soothing voice of her father as he spoke. She also talked to her mother for a few minutes. Before Aneri knew it, it was almost 11:00 PM. Just then, the doorbell rang. I have someone at the door, mom. I need to go. Talk to you later? said Aneri with her usual politeness while she opened the main door and welcomed Abhinav with a hug.

Sure, go ahead, dear. Take care. Jay Shri Krishna! said Mrs. Shah on the phone.

Jay Shri Krishna, mom. Aneri turned her attention to Abhinav.

Jay Shri Krishna, Dr. Aneri, Abhinav folded his hand and bowed trying to mock Aneri.

The act brought hint of a smile on Aneri’s face. Drop it, it doesn’t suit you.

Aneri looked at the wall clock and asked, It’s almost 11, sweetie. What brought you here so late?

I don’t want to be one of those weekend boyfriends. So, I thought I will swing by on my way home! Abhinav said, holding Aneri’s hand gently in his hands.

My dear Abhi sir, if you have any grand plans for bedroom activities, it is not going to happen tonight. You will have to wait for a week! Aneri, with a smile on her face and moved her other hand over Abhinav’s hands and patted him gently.

Well, that’s a bummer. I am too tired to go home. Can I crash here tonight nevertheless?

You know you don’t have to ask, Abhi. Do you want something to eat?

No, I already had dinner at work. I think I am just going to sleep.

Abhinav walked into the bedroom and picked out a pair of his pajamas from his selection of clothes he kept in Aneri’s bedroom closet. Lying on the bed, they chatted for a few minutes, wished each other good night and Aneri fell asleep in seconds. Abhinav couldn’t sleep for the next hour and lay awake, thinking about the pace of his life so far. So many things had happened in such a short span of 30 years, and he was tired. He wanted a break from it all. Traveling with a backpack in the Himalayas for a year or so sounded like a very appealing idea to him. He knew that it was not possible and he wouldn’t be able to do so in the near future. He took out a book from his backpack on the tribes of the Middle East during the Medieval Era. He looked for his bookmark and resumed from where he had last left off. Reading was like therapy for Abhinav. In a few minutes, he had already read a couple of chapters. As his eyes began to give up, he took out his thick-glassed spectacles, rested them on a side table above his book, and closed his eyes to sleep.

Abhinav was born and raised in Delhi in a very modest financial background. Abhinav’s father, Mr. Gupta, worked as a clerk in a nationalized bank. His mother was a school teacher in a local private school, teaching students of classes five and six. Abhinav was a consistent class topper throughout his school years and in the 12th Grade, his results for the combined entrance exam surprised him, too. He ended up in the IEC or the Indian Engineering College, Mumbai, in the Computer Science branch. During his time at engineering college, it was effortless for him to stay on top of his studies while pursuing other interests like reading. He was a voracious reader and would read anything that he came across in a wide range of genres like fiction, philosophy, religion, history, emerging computer technologies, politics and so on. By the time he graduated, he had decided that he didn’t want to end up in a university in the USA or take up a job offer at a multi-national software company like his other batch mates. He wanted to do something different. So, he and three other fellow students from his engineering class started up a software company with almost no funds. The three others were from different parts of India. Instead of looking for a place close to anyone’s home to start the company, they all agreed that Mumbai would be a good place to initiate their venture.

They begged, borrowed and stole to survive for the next couple of years while developing an enterprise software product. It was a software framework that would enable a bunch of enterprise software products to co-exist, connect and integrate. After a couple of years of staring at their computer screens for almost 16 hours a day with no weekends or holidays, they were now ready to launch their software product in market. Abhinav had envisioned that their first customer would need to be a huge brand name if they wanted to make their presence felt in the market right away. All of the co-founders had continued to depend on the monthly allowances from their parents for living expenses. So, neither the company nor the co-founders had any spare funds to actually travel to other places in the world for acquiring this brand name customer. Their first customer would have to be from Mumbai itself. By now, Abhinav had emerged as the natural leader in the team of four so he was entrusted the responsibility of next steps. He started systematically by researching potential customers for their software product. The Shah Group of Industries appeared on top of the list as a multi-national conglomerate. It was a widely known fact that the company invested heavily in the latest computer hardware and software infrastructure to stay ahead in the game for their different businesses. Abhinav decided that the Shah Group of Industries was going to be his company’s first customer, no matter what.

The next day, Abhinav went to the railway station and bought a monthly pass available for regular commuters. He knew that the Shah Group of Industries was not going to sign a deal on day one and this was going to be a long haul. He took a local train to South Mumbai where the global corporate headquarters of the Shah Group of Industries was located. He had to somehow initiate contact with Mr. Iyer, the Chief Information Officer or CIO of the Shah Group of Industries. As he was walking from the station to his destination, he noticed his reflection in a mirror inside a roadside shop. He was horrified at what he saw. His hair was messed up, his face was full of dirt and sweat with the only good feature of his head was the thick spectacles

he wore. His casual T-shirt and jeans had creases all over the place as if he had just escaped a mob trying to lynch him. He checked his wallet and smiled at a choice he would have to make between lunch and a makeover. He decided that he would save enough for a thaali at a cheap restaurant and spend the rest on his more immediate needs.

He walked into a laundry shop and asked point blank, I want to rent a nice suit with tie including shirt and trousers. How much would you charge?

We don’t do that. We just take care of washing and ironing, the attendant replied.

I am going to do that next month. Every morning, I will come here, rent a new suit in a different color. It has to be perfectly clean and ironed. Here is 25 percent advance. Now, go and look for a nice outfit for me! Abhinav placed the contents of his wallet on the desk, saving barely enough for a cheap thaali.

The attendant was thoroughly confused at why a person would come up with such a weird proposition. But he decided this was his opportunity to make a quick buck. A quick round of mental math revealed that it was a fair proposition. He was about to make a counter offer when the thought of another laundry shop down the lane popped up in his mind. By any chance, if he could not convince this strange man to shell out more money, he would lose him and shop down the lane would jump at such an opportunity. So, he quietly nodded and gestured Abhinav to follow him into the shop. A few minutes later, Abhinav emerged from the shop looking like a decent human being. As he came out, he extended his hand towards the attendant and introduced himself. I am Abhinav. What’s your name?

It had been a while since anyone had asked the attendant his name. It was almost like he had to make an effort to recollect his name. He said, Parab.

Thank you Parab. I will see you in the evening.

You are welcome, sir! Parab enjoyed the attention as this strange man took the time not only to ask his name but also thanked him. He offered in gratitude, Do you need my services on Sunday as well? I can come over to open the shop for you, if need be.

No, Parab, that won’t be necessary! Abhinav smiled and continued towards his destination. On the way, he figured he had to get his shoes polished. Lunch was now downgraded from a cheap thaali to a vada pav from a street side vendor.

He reached a plush reception area with a middle-aged receptionist at the front desk and a waiting lounge for visitors. He had learnt a new lesson a few minutes ago from his interaction with Parab and he was dying to test it. He approached the receptionist and started a conversation Good morning, Swati.

The receptionist looked up and tried a bit to see if she could recognize Abhinav’s face. Do I know you? she asked.

Abhinav knew he didn’t have any boyish charm so he didn’t attempt to smile. He said with a straight face No ma’am, I just read your name tag.

Oh! Swati was trying the process the events that had taken place in last two seconds. A stranger walking over to her, noticing her name tag on her dress, using it for a personalized greeting and now respectfully calling her Ma’am!

Yes, young man, what can I do for you? Swati blushed a bit.

I am here to see Mr. Iyer.

What time is your appointment with him?

Sorry, I don’t have an appointment.

That’s going to be difficult. Iyer Sir doesn’t meet anyone without an appointment. He is a very busy man, you see, Swati said in a sympathetic tone.

Not a problem. Could you please just let him know that I would like to see him in person whenever he has a few minutes? I will wait for him here in the reception, if you don’t mind.

Sure, I will let him know but he doesn’t really see anyone without an appointment.

No worries, Swati ma’am. I have all the time, patience and my laptop here. I can wait in the reception for as long as it takes.

Okay, said Swati hesitantly. Who should I say wants to meet him? And what is it regarding, may I ask?

Abhinav Gupta. I want to talk about a software product that will revolutionize the way the Shah Group of Industries integrates the supply chain with the ordering system.

Wait a minute. Let me write it down.

As Swati picked up the phone to let Mr. Iyer know about the visitor, Abhinav switched on his laptop and took a seat in the reception area from where he could watch all incoming and outgoing human traffic. He would be seen by anyone coming in or going out of the office. At around 1:00 PM, Swati left her desk, walked inside the office and took a left turn towards another enclosure within. Abhinav peeked inside and confirmed the sign on that enclosure read Cafeteria. She must have gone for lunch, Abhinav thought. He quickly closed his laptop, walked down to the street and had a vada pav from the nearest street vendor he could find. The entire process took less than 10 minutes.

Swati returned from lunch and approached Abhinav who was deeply engrossed in his work on his laptop. She asked if he had his lunch and also tried to counsel him to find a common connection with Mr. Iyer and get an appointment beforehand. As Abhinav tried to explain that he didn’t know a lot of people in Mumbai who could be a common connection between him and Mr. Iyer, the security guard at the entrance rose from his seat and threw a salute for a person entering the office. Good afternoon, Sir! the guard said, in a loud voice but with a very polite manner. Swati turned her attention towards the man entering the office and said, Good afternoon, Sir! The gentleman greeted back while briskly walking inside the office Good afternoon, Swati.

Abhinav’s brain started firing on all cylinders. He had done his research on the Shah Group of Industries. He

had visited their website to find how Mr. Iyer, the CIO looked and still remembered what he looked like. The person who just walked in didn’t even remotely look like him. Mr. Iyer looked like he was in his late sixties, dark complexioned, with a thinning hairline and probably a bit overweight based on his slightly chubby face. This guy looked like he was in his early fifties, had a fair complexion, a lot more hair, was dressed in a designer suit and had a Rolex around his wrist. Most probably, he was Mr. Shah. He hadn’t paid attention to Mr. Shah’s profile at all since he was so focused on meeting his would-be customer Mr. Iyer. So, he took a mild gamble. Wow, the man himself. I have never seen him in person but he definitely has an aura around him!

Yes, Mr. Shah is very charismatic.

The next day, Abhinav followed the same ritual of taking an early local train, stopped by to change at Parab’s and waited at the reception while working on his laptop. He couldn’t identify anyone walking in or out as Mr. Iyer. Maybe the photo on the website was pretty old. That day, Mr. Shah walked in at around 10:00 AM and this time he threw a quick glance around reception area. The glance was so rapid that Abhinav didn’t get any time to react to it in anyway. The routine continued for four more days and every day, Abhinav chatted with Swati for a few minutes, trying to identify ways to get a meeting with Mr. Iyer. All his efforts ended up in the same unimaginative but genuine suggestion from Swati to find a common contact and book an appointment. On day 7, at around 4:00 PM, Mr. Shah walked into his office amid greetings from security guard, Swati and a few other people on the way.

To Abhinav’s surprise, Mr. Shah looked directly in his direction and made eye contact with him. Abhinav was not prepared for this encounter at all and fumbled. He recovered fast, brushed aside his laptop and placed it in an empty seat next to him. He rose quickly and bowed slightly with a smile on his face, not letting go the precious eye contact in the meantime. Everyone in the area was awestruck when Mr. Shah walked to Abhinav, extended his hand and introduced himself I am Aditya, the Managing Director and Chairman of the board of this company! Abhinav decided against his extra firm handshake and shook Aditya’s hand with a more respectful grasp. "Walk with