Days Before Event, College Refuses To Host Release Of Lesbian-Themed Novel

The release of a lesbian-themed novel ‘'Meenukal Chumbikkunnu' is mired in controversy after St. Teresa's College in Ernakulam, where the ceremony was to be held at 3 pm on May 14, withheld permission for it. Reason? The book could be a bad influence on the students. The management said that the event may “'impact the minds of students”.

The novel's author, Sree Parvathy, told OnManorama: “We had booked the venue almost a week ago. We distributed our brochures and newsletters with details of the venue. We suddenly received a call from the principal, saying that the college is going back on their word in line with their stance on lesbian identity.”

“They said 'such books' would influence the minds of their students and theirs is a women's college,” she added.

Parvathy is a regular at the literary circuit and keeps bringing in her own content in the form of verses and short stories. Pranayappathi is one of her most favoured works. 'Meenukal Chumbikkunnu' is her first novel.

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Though St. Teresa’s College has denied to host the release of her lesbian love story, the organizers of the event have found her another venue right across the college. It will be released on the same day at Children’s Park Theatre.

The book has taken on the taboo topic of lesbian love in Indian society and so the college turning down the event does not come as a surprise. However, what is normal may not be right and there is a need for all minority genders to have a place in society.

Sree Parvathy (Pic by Facebook)

In 2016, a web-series on lesbian love story titled ‘The Other Love Story’, directed by Bengaluru-based filmmaker, Roopa Rao, won the Best Director award at the NYC Web Fest. Apart from winning the award in the Best Director category, the web series was nominated in five more categories — Best Web series, Best Writer, Best Actor for both the protagonists and Best Cinematography.

The youth are quite progressive in receiving creative content based on liberal ideas. However, some sections of the society still find it hard to believe that any other gender apart from men and women exist. It's high time we changed our mindset!

Picture credit- Facebook