Fourth review. This was nice. But I'm getting diabetes.

Apparently, this is connected to BeaStKid's previous anthology entry, which I vaguely remember reading. This piece, like its "prequel," was well written, and some parts were quite absorbing, such as Karan's coming out. The omniscient third person POV was also well done; it's quite refreshing after the first person and limited third person pieces. The tone, however, wasn't absorbing enough for me to really get into the story... I mean, the first big paragraph had an explanation for what NGO's are. But it was all very educational. So is gay marriage now legal in India?

One of the things I found fascinating in this story, like all of BeaStKid's stories, is the glimpse into another culture. Besides the story elements, such as Karan's interactions with his father, there was the wonderful detail about the wedding plans, and how complicated it got There were intriguing hints into a ceremony that's not known to me, and made me want to learn more about what these things meant.

Well done, BeaStKid!

*LOL* My sentiments exactly. A nice story of a utopian ideal, a sort of paradise. Nice info about wedding traditions in India. But the story lacked... conflict, I guess. The happy ending, without the pain of getting there, just doesn't have quite the same reward, it seems.

Hmmm, a metaphor for real life?

A thought: If you combine this with one of Duncan Ryder's stories, you'll have a nice balance between happy and sad.

Thanks Beastkid for this nice insight into indian culture and life. It might (as corvus and cynical romance said) sound a bit "educational".. but i can't see anything wrong in learning something about other cultures!
As far as i know, its still wishful thinking that the harsh laws about gays will change, and even more unthinkable that a traditional hindu wedding could be happening for a gay couple. So it is a bit like a fairy tale. Probably something many indian gays dream about. I really hope it may come true some time !

Yeah, it was kinda sweet. I sort of wanted to write something mushy after the first two installments in this series were a bit on the sad side. You are right, this story was meant to tell others about the traditional Hindu wedding. And was also a fairytale wish for all the GLBTs in India that we get the right to get married....


Thanks Graeme. It was my intention to give these details of the marriage. I am glad that you liked it.


Thanks for the comments, Cyn. I agree that the story was all lovey-dovey. But that was the whole point of it. You see, the struggles have been well documented throughout (even in the previous installments of the Sangharsha Series). I wanted to write this fantasy, where I am able to tell what Indian GLBTs dream of and a dream wedding as well.

As the name of the story and the short blurb I wrote for it suggests, this story was never meant to be portraying any stuggle, even though it contains SANGHARSHA (meaning struggle) in the title.

Regardless, I am pleased that you liked the story.


You got it head on, Pete... I wanted this story to tell about our dreams and about the traditions of Hindus here in India. This was a special request made to me by one of my readers of the story 'Arranged' that he would like to see two men getting married in my next story.

It gave me a perfect idea for this anthology and to do what I do best - tell others about my culture.

That you found it educational and interesting, is what I intended, and am happy for that...

BeaStKid

I agree completely. Although there were a lot of terms I didn't understand, the story was told so well that I didn't feel I was missing out on anything.

A great story, BK. Thank you for sharing it.

Awww such a sweet story!

I'm so happy for Varun and Karan!

It was very informative about another culture and I liked how you tailored the wedding to fit the two grooms!

Awesome

Thanks for the comments, Kev... I really appreciate them. Yeah, the tailoring of the wedding was something that I had to think about a lot. You see, in Christian weddings, (at least what I have seen of Christian weddings) it is somewhat easier to tweak the traditions in favour of same-sex couples. But in case of traditional Hindu marriages, that is virtually impossible as there are certain rituals that are specifically for the bride and others that are specifically for the groom.



BeaStKid