Do I Dare Dream

Arun started perspiring heavily when a few local boys cornered him. He stammered when one of them asked what exactly was he doing in front of a Dance School for so long. "Were you hitting on girls"? "Have you made a video of them?" the questions shot one after another made him all dizzy. Some passersby even called out on Arun's parents for not teaching him how to respect women.

A Year Back...

Mr. Bhattacharya kept the newspaper aside and shouted on top of his voice, "Boys of your age learn football, cricket, what not, and just look at yourself... You are such a shame." Mrs. Bhattacharya was a bit disturbed. She said, "You could learn those western ones son, classical is exclusively for girls". Arun was immensely frustrated at the thought of his mother not knowing about famous personalities such as Uday Shankar, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Sunder Prasad. "I relate so closely to classical dance. I want to know more about it and perform someday" he said to which both his parents gave utterly disgusted look. All of a sudden, Mr. Bhattacharya said, "Don't tell me you are not normal".

Yes, being homosexual is perceived by most middle-class Indian parents as not normal. Arun was unable to hide his anger. He raised his voice... "Gay people are normal Dad, much more normal than you at least... But I am not gay. Just because you both have only seen girls learning classical dance that simply does not mean boys are not allowed to explore it" Mr. Bhattacharya slapped his son hard. For the next few days Arun and his mother stayed at his grandparents' house where over-the-top conservative aunts persuaded him to forget dancing and do something else. "Develop a macho hobby", "Think about your parents", "How are they supposed to explain your childish decision to society?"

Present Day...

Arun's entire room was exuding masculinity. The blue colored walls were replete with posters of famous athletes. His cricket bat was peeping from his cupboard. Well, what was Arun doing in front of a Dance School this morning? Perhaps seeing other people living his dream...