Mother's ad seeking groom for Iyer boy evokes hate mails

Mumbai: A matrimonial advertisement placed by a woman in a newspaper looking for a groom for her son has generated keen response getting over 150 inquiries, including a few hate mails. [caption id=“attachment_2265090” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Harrish Iyer. Image Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] Those who have shown interest in the proposal include a few from abroad and cuts across religious divide. The ad had led to a heated debate in social media with gay and lesbian activists supporting the move of 58-year-old Padma Iyer, while others slammed the idea of same-sex marriage saying homosexuality is illegal in India. The advertisement published in a city tabloid on 19 May said “Seeking 25-40, Well-placed, Animal-Loving, Vegetarian GROOM for my SON (36, 5'11”) who works with an NGO…" The man who is looking for a partner is 36-year-old activist Harish Iyer, who works with a local NGO. “Yes, out of the 150 responses that my mother has received so far, about 75 percent of them are encouraging while a few others are hate and abusive mails,” Harish, who realised his sexual orientation at a young age of 14 and revealed it to his mother at 22, told PTI. “I am going through the offers that I have received from across the world, including Indian cities, and I will take my own time to finalise a proposal,” he said. When asked about the hate mails that they have received, Harish, an LGBT activist, said, “Few of those hate and abusive mails have warned us that we are involved in destroying family institution.” “But, the reality is that me and my mother don’t take such (hate) mails seriously. On the contrary, few mails have lauded our bold decision,” said Harish, who works for the rights of education, income and health of the common man. Padma has received mails from USA, Australia, England and Saudi Arabia. So far, as Indians are concerned, apart from the community she belongs, many are from different states and of various religious backgrounds, Padma said. Harish has praised his mother saying, “I’m proud of her. It was her idea. My mum was like: ‘You don’t have a boyfriend, you’re not so young.’ She was concerned about her ageing son like any Indian mother would be, irrespective of whether he is homosexual or heterosexual.” Homosexuality was in effect re-criminalised in India in 2013 in a decision by the Supreme Court that stunned campaigners and led to international criticism. PTI