Poster boy prince

Manvendra Singh Gohil, crown prince of Rajpipla, overcame tradition and won his independence as a gay man. Now he’s working to provide opportunities and safeguards to other gay men, he tells Neha Bhatt

The news that Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil had signed a Hollywood film travelled quickly across his hometown Rajpipla in Gujarat, the capital of the erstwhile kingdom of the same name. Gohil will begin shooting for the film next year. He will star as himself, a gay prince. The Hollywood drama is said to take off from a real event — his appearance on an Oprah Winfrey Show episode titled “Gay around the World” in late 2007.

Strangely enough, recalls Gohil, the same show was a turning point in his life. After it went on air, Gohil began to receive unprecedented support from all quarters. He had faced much hostility since he publicly declared himself homosexual. Gohil suddenly found himself identified as the “new gay icon”, “India’s celebrity gay prince” and what-not — the first to be so labelled among the blue-blooded.

Labels seem not to ruffle him; unabashedly, he wears his sexuality on his sleeve. If anything, he’s startlingly upfront about it. “People watched me on the show, intently, and thought to themselves that if Oprah had called me all the way to interview me, there must be something to it,” says Gohil. His family instantly became more understanding, and in the years that followed Gohil gathered goodwill from around the world. This enabled him to put into action his long-standing dream — to build an old age home for gays.

At the moment it’s this old age home that has Gohil’s undivided attention. Work on the site, beside the river Narmada in Rajpipla, is well under way. The project was kickstarted by a NRI well-wisher from Canada, who contributed a large plot of land. “The idea of a gay old age home surfaced a decade ago while I sat discussing with a few friends some of the issues we face as a gay community. We resolved to not buckle under the pressure put on us by our families to marry. We started refusing marriage. Subsequently we realised we would need a support system in our old age, in the absence of support from a biological family,” says Gohil.

By the time the blueprint was ready, the crown prince had already been through a messy divorce in the early 1990s, after he was married off to a princess. He says he regretted having agreed to the alliance, which led to expected complications for both the parties involved. In his defence, he explains that he wasn’t quite aware of his sexuality at the time.

Gohil suffered from a nervous breakdown soon after, and that is when his family learnt that he was gay. “As a member of a royal family, I was never exposed to the thought of homosexuality. Later, when I came in touch with the work of leading gay activist Ashok Row Kavi, it opened my mind to homosexuality. I felt guilty at first because of the stigma attached to it. It took me some time to became comfortable with the feeling,” shares Gohil.

While the palace now knew Gohil’s secret, the royal family was not keen to have the news travel beyond the walls. Gohil, however, would have none of that. “It was a difficult two years before I went public. I was tired of lying, and pretending to people outside of the palace that I was not gay,” he says. It prompted him to “create a sensation”, in his own words, and in his private rebellion he went public with the announcement that he was gay.

His father disowned him, briefly, something Gohil says he doesn’t blame him for. Gohil returned to live in the palace after a reconciliation. “It’s because of my family’s ignorance that they couldn’t understand my situation,” he reasons.

Gohil’s biggest source of strength and solace was the Lakshya Trust, which he founded in Rajpipla to raise awareness about homosexuality and HIV-AIDS, and to generate employment for gay people, many of whom turn to prostitution. “The old age home and a hospice nearby (for terminally ill AIDS patients) are being designed with the intention of providing viable, alternative employment to young gay men,” he says.

He is particular that the project be strictly eco-friendly and make use of renewable energy. Gohil has contributed a few acres of his own for the hospital, which is now being constructed next to the old age home. He takes pride in his belief that gay men are naturally good at nursing and helping old people cope. “It’s similar to the way creativity flows easily within artists,” he explains.

Something of an artist himself, this prince is a patron of classical music. “Things can get so stressful at times. I like to spend my free time listening to music and singing, and organising music festivals,” he says.

Gohil has made unusual choices for an Indian prince, but the 39th direct descendant in the 650-year dynasty of Rajpipla remains a blueblood at heart. “I want to continue this lineage, even though I cannot have biological children.” He announced last year that he would adopt a child when the time came to take over the title from his father. For now, he’s happy to carry out ceremonial duties in Rajpipla, where the royal family is still held in high regard by its former subjects. “I make sure I’m there during all our important festivals,” he says.

Unlike many other homosexuals who feel more comfortable away from home, not having to explain their “queerness”, Gohil stayed on and turned, instead, to sensitising the people of the area to homosexuality. And Rajpipla has reciprocated. Had the prince become one of the commoners, stepping out of the stuffy bounds of royal etiquette and the court?

Three years ago, when his coming out made headlines, Gohil didn’t expect a flood of such applause. “The senior citizens’ society of Rajpipla, in a letter penned by a 90-year-old man, sent me a letter of congratulations for speaking the truth,” he recalls. The city police officers congratulated him, and the otherwise conservative chief minister Narendra Modi even offered monetary support towards Gohil’s work.

Earlier this year, Gohil joined the public celebrations in Rajpipla which followed the government’s move to decriminalise homosexuality. And now, as the old age home nears completion, another celebration is waiting in the wings. With a touch of royalty.