Gay Rights Activist Harish Iyer.
'Wanted, a groom for Mr Iyer' said an advertisement, a first in India to be put out in a Mumbai tabloid.
36-year-old Harish Iyer's mother was getting impatient about his advancing age. She thought it was time for Harish, a Gay Rights Activist, to settle down and thus put out a matrimonial advertisement.
"If you have the numbers, the government has to do something about it. Because it's not one parent who is struggling, a whole lot of parents want their sons to be or daughters to be settled in life," said Padma Iyer, his mother.
For 57-year-old Ms Iyer, there were initial hiccups but then it was smooth sailing as the advertisement has received six responses by now. She said placing the advertisement was not easy as some publications turned it down citing legal issues; some offered suggestions on the way it was worded. It was finally published by Mid-day.
"The ad is not illegal, nothing about it is illegal. The court could say the ad is preparing for an offence but that happens in very specific cases. Preparation in itself is not a criminal offence," Senior Advocate Anand Grover told NDTV.
"It is still very difficult to understand what exactly could be the legal issue because gay marriages are not illegal but gay marriages do not have legal sanction, so there is a difference of something being illegal and something not having legal sanction," Harish Iyer said.
Defending its decision to publish the advertisement, Mid-day Editor Sachin Kalbag told NDTV, "The ad was neither controversial nor sensitive. Besides, no progressive society should put restrictions on marriage. In India, matrimonial ads are one of the best ways to find a life partner, given the prevalence of "arranged marriage". With this ad, Harish Iyer's mother hopes to find a groom for her son. I, and indeed Mid-Day see nothing wrong in it."
For the LGBT community in India, the advertisement is another step forward towards equal rights for them. One that will perhaps make other parents who fear social stigma become more open and accept their children's sexual orientation without prejudice.