Lucknow: City streets were painted in the colours of the rainbow when members of the LGBTQIA+ community walked hand-in-hand, raising awareness about their rights at the eighth edition of the Pride Parade on Sunday.
The parade had participants dancing, clicking selfies and raising slogans as it started from Dainik Jagran Crossing and moved via Baalu Adda before culminating at Prag Narain Road.
Gaurav Verma, 22, proposed to his partner Yash Srivastava, 24, in the midst of the parade with a rose, a love letter and a ring amid a loud cheer from the participants. “This was my third pride parade and it turned out to be the most special one,” said a beaming Gaurav, a medical student. Holding LGBTQIA+ flags, many shouted ‘Pyar hua iqrar hua, Gay hua to kya hua’ and ‘Hara nahi na narangi, Awadh banega satrangi’. Kaif Hashmi, 21, a sketch artist from Gorakhpur, designed a special costume with a head gear for the parade. Bhartendu Dubey, 23, a law student at Allahabad University, participated in the walk despite his semester exam scheduled on Monday. “It is the love for pride walks that brought me here. I will return by midnight,” said Dubey.
