Participants at the Queer Pride Keralam 2019 in Kochi on Sunday

KOCHI: The stretch from Vanchi Square, near the High Court to the Maharaja’s College witnessed an hour of sheer joy and bright smiles as the city hosted 10th queer pride march — Queer Pride Keralam 2019 — on Sunday.

“It is the 10th queer pride march, the colours that you see is a celebration of survival. Experiencing this solidarity and liberation makes us feel that our existence is strong. By organizing marches like this, we also look forward to becoming a part of democracy ,” said Shilpa, secretary of NGO Marvel.

“I am a member of the gay community. This is my second time in the march in Kochi . As you can see lot of people coming forward to be a part of this venture, this itself is our victory. We stand here with incredible pride that our community has its freedom just like any other,” said Johnson Marigiry, a participant.

Chendamelam gave a vibrant rhythm to the march. Many of the LGBT community members danced and sang their way through, while others waived rainbow flags or raised placards with slogans like “Smash Brahmanical Patriarchy” and “Self-Respect”.

Some of the participants had come all the way from Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. Face paint was applied on participants who gathered at the Vanchi Square.

‘My body, my right’ was the main slogan of the march. The march was followed by a cultural evening at 6pm. The event held at Durbar Hall ground also had the presence of Geetu Mohandas , director of film ‘Moothon’ and actor Nivin Pauly, who essays the main role in the film.

