We are back with yet another tale of coming out of an IISc-ian. There's a small bonus at the end of the post, which I found is very appealing to the eye and beautifully epitomises the narrative of the night.

At 11 PM, as the owls stole into the starry night, the family of three were 'discussing' marriage of their daughter who is in her early twenties. Mom quipped in, "I have bought all the gold and jewellery the groom could ever ask for and it's time we get her married." Their daughter wasn't entirely happy with this exchange. After mom left the room, she turned her pent-up righteous bewilderment onto her father with a foresight: preparing the person for the let out.

Meena* started out by asking her dad for advice on choosing the correct partner and his criteria for an eligible person. She further asked if she could marry after a PhD degree, whether he would accept her marrying a trans-person, and adopting a child instead of conceiving one. She received a reassurance that he was okay with all of the above.

Meena felt the palpable now or never moment since they rarely have heart to heart conversations. So, she asked him if she had to marry a man. Because Meena felt she would probably want to marry a woman. There, she did it. The moment every queer person had spent countless sleepless nights thinking about. Thinking about what could be done, what could go wrong, how to remedy et cetera.

It wouldn't be pragmatic to say, "She has come out. The outcome doesn't matter." Fortunately, for the bisexual woman here, her father replied that he is confortable with that possibility and that he would support her. Meena shed tears of joy upon hearing her dad's utterances.

She states, "It's like a dream. I hope I never wake up." Sure, it is. Winning over one parent to your side is half-battle won. She had already confided in her cousins and close friends at college about her sexuality.

*Name changed to protect privacy.