While for some of us, the existence and rights of the LGBTQ community feature heavily in our day to day lives; for many in India the matter is still shrouded in secrecy. In Lucknow, a huge breakthrough came on Sunday when the city hosted its first Queer Pride Parade. The very first Indian Pride Walk may have come 18 years ago in Kolkata but for Uttar Pradesh, this was a first and marked the promise of things to come.

The Awadh Queer Pride Parade saw a turnout of 300 people from across the nation to support the community. Although their walk between Sikandarbagh crossing to the General Post Office Hazratganj was only 1.5 kilometres, the message they stood for was carried a lot further. Darvesh Singh Yadvendra, an organiser of the event said that the two objectives of the parade were to celebrate the diversity of sexuality and gender, and to protest the harassment and discrimination the community faces.

Although so many from the community have faced persecution, threats and sometimes even violence, the parade was overshadowed by an atmosphere of love. And though thanks to Article 337, that love is still illegal, it didn’t for a second slow down the party as rainbow flags and cries of “I am Gay, It’s OK” filled the air. Lucknow has always been perceived as such a conservative, traditional city and the sight of such enthusiastic says a lot about how far the LGBTQ community has come, and how far it still has to go.