An old age home for gay men, perhaps the
first such centre in Asia, has come up in
neighbouring Narmada district of Gujarat. The
old age home at Hanmenteshwar village, located
on the banks of Narmada river, was inaugurated
on Friday and named after late American writer
Janet, who generously donated funds for the
project.
Talking on Saturday, the main architect behind
the project, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil said,
"I decided to name it after Janet as she had
contributed a lot in its set up. She was like
any other ordinary person...and that added more
beauty to the project, which was initiated in
2009."
The centre was inaugurated by Janet's sister
Carlafine, who accompanied by her husband, flew
down from US for this purpose.
Gohil belongs to
the royal family of former princely state of
Rajpipla. He is the only known person of royal
lineage in modern India to have publicly revealed
he is gay.
"The home can accommodate 50 elderly homosexuals,"
said Gohil, scion of the 650-year-old Rajpipla
dynasty. The project has been developed under the
auspices of Lakshya Trust, a community-based
organisation founded by Gohil, known as India's
gay prince, to provide support and promote
HIV/AIDS prevention among gay men.
Gohil hoped his project would remove misgivings
about homosexuals and help in promoting a society
where people from different sexual orientation can
co-exist peacefully.
He said he was happy that a priest of a temple
located near the home attended the inauguration
ceremony along with his family which is a "good
sign" and indicated towards changing mindsets.
