"My acceptance speech was one line: ‘Der aayé par durust aayé (Better late than never)’… People said I’m luckier to get the award in old age than those who are posthumously rewarded.” India’s first openly gay poet Hoshang Merchant was speaking to Parsiana on being recognized at the Rainbow Lit Fest — Queer and Inclusive held on December 9-10, 2023 at the Gulmohar Park Club, New Delhi for his work in gay activism over decades. Author of 20 books of poetry and four critical studies, Merchant has edited India’s first gay anthology Yaraana: Gay Writing from India (see "(Un)happy and gay,” Books, Parsiana, April 21, 2012).
At the award ceremony, he was unaware of the standing ovation he received nor did he hear the encomiums from the stage "so busy was I avoiding a fall as I walk with a stick.” Merchant mentioned on a WhatsApp chat "I’ve battled a month long illness from all the travel to cold places and am too weak to speak.”
Hoshang Merchant (r) receiving his award from feminist publisher Urvashi Butalia
Paraphrasing American writer Henry Miller, 76-year-old Merchant stated, "A writer’s life is torture: out of poverty in youth and the burden of accolades in extreme old age… You learn to ignore both.”
When Parsiana observed that "tolerance for same sex liaisons is growing,” Merchant stated that it is "thanks to people like me who speak and the Press like you who support us… A writer’s work becomes prominent when his personal concerns coincide with a current concern in the society at large.” The poet stated that "homosexuality became the pet liberal cause after globalization in India… which came 40 years after I became sexually active at 16… Legalization came 60 years later.” Describing himself as a foot soldier of the revolution, he stated that "our work preceded the Supreme Court’s pro-gay ruling of 2018… Our work was quoted in the arguments.”
He graciously acknowledged, "By rewarding me as a mascot, everyone who struggled via recovery of Indian gay history and telling of contemporary gay stories like me is being awarded… Personally it’s meaningless as my life was spent as an illegal citizen of a country I love, which is my karmabhoomi (workplace) and where, unlike many, I have paid every paisa of tax. (In late 2015, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor introduced a bill to decriminalize homosexuality which was rejected by the Lok Sabha. On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled Section 377 as unconstitutional in so far as it criminalizes consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex.)
Merchant concluded, "I’m really exhausted… I am not acting the gay diva.”
The Lit Fest included over 20 hours of programing, featuring more than 70 speakers and performers who came from different parts of India and the world, stated the organizers in a post-event press note. The festival saw a footfall of over 700 people each day. Programing included panel discussions, movie screenings, a play, music, dancing and drag performances and talks. "In many ways, the iconic poet and gay voice, born in 1947, Hoshang Merchant said that there was no way he’d be anyone else irrespective of the painful yet triumphant journey he has had,” stated the press note. Festival director Sharif Rangnekar said, "As we wrap up another edition on a hopeful note, let us carry forward the voices we’ve heard, the stories we’ve shared, and the connections we’ve forged to build an inclusive future for the community. Rangnekar wrote on his social media account that the festival was "honoring (Merchant’s) profound contributions to the queer literary world…Your work has left an indelible mark, inspiring generations to come.”
The Rainbow Lit Fest — Queer and Inclusive, is a trademark owned by the Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation. The Foundation also owns Embrace: Music Justice Arts. The two organizations work across the spaces of music, arts, justice, using events, talks and music to communicate different issues and matters of social relevance.