I was reading a book called ‘The Secret’ (by Rhonda Byrne) to my mother, when this incident happened.

In one of the examples, the author narrates about a gay guy who was expressing negative thoughts and how the author suggested this person to think positive, etc etc. As many of you know, it is very difficult to talk about certain topics such as gay etc to elders in India – leave alone trying to use such examples when trying to communicate as an example of a good incident.

I tried a variation by replacing the word ‘gay’ with ‘handicapped’ (no offense meant to gays around the world as I truly respect their own opinions). It was quite difficult as the paragraph went along and I had to pay special attention to some sentences such as ‘they dont mock you anymore at office’.

It was quite weird trying to explain this, but I could not help thinking about how difficult the experience was. So I started thinking what would have happened if I had just narrated it as it is – there would be two major issues:

One – she would be surprised by the fact that I am saying such things openly and might immediately start jumping to a conclusion that I am gay – which I am not.

Two – she might lose the respect for the book and its author as she might get a preconceived notion that this book spreads incorrect messages – which it does not.

If just talking about such things is such a big deal for me, I wonder how difficult it must be for gay guys in India trying to explain to their parents about themselves. Have any one ever tried talking about such subjects to elders? I think I need help on this one as I still do not know how to discuss such topics with elders.