Keshav Suri has been in the forefront of India’s movement for the rights of the LGBTQ community. 

But what about his own love story? In the latest post of Humans of Bombay, he shared the sweet account of meeting his partner Cyril and how they both got married. 

We met randomly back in 2008. I had returned from France & one evening, my best friend invited me to an LGBTQ+ party. She had 2 guys in mind for me–one from Hong Kong & one from France. Being partial to France, I met Cyril & that night was crazy!
Instagram/Humans of Bombay

That first night together was indicative of what was to come. In Keshav’s words, “It filled the void of my father passing away”.

But after 4 years of seeing each other, it was time for Cyril to move back to Paris. But this didn’t stop the two from meeting. 

When he left, I missed him. So, I flew to Paris to see him! That’s how the flying-to-places to see each other started. We had crazy experiences! 
Instagram/Humans of Bombay

After this, they took the next big step by moving in together, and decided to meet each other’s families.

We even met each other’s families who were so supportive! In fact, my mom interrogated Cyril but soon they became best friends–they even have an Anti-Keshav Club!
Times of India

“We always knew we wanted to marry,” Keshav says, adding that even though the Supreme Court of India did give them hope, it wasn’t something they thought would materialise. 

But love is ‘not bound by restrictions’. Never. So they decided to get married regardless of everything.

Shaadi Saga

And they got married twice: In Goa and in Paris. 

It was a perfect blend of tradition with the contemporary. On the last day we had a Drag Show. I’m a huge enthusiast. So I said why not? I even danced with my mom on ‘Kaisi Paheli Zindagani’. She said-life’s a puzzle, we’ve to solve it & derive happiness from it.
Shaadi Saga

Happily married now, Keshav has some words for people who might be facing similar dilemmas. 

You should fall freely in love & let the world be damned… because in the end, ‘the one’ is going to end up being your world & that’s all that matters.

Amen, to that. You can read the entire post here:

“We met randomly back in 2008. I had returned from France & one evening, my best friend invited me to an LGBTQ+ party. She had 2 guys in mind for me–one from Hong Kong & one from France. Being partial to France, I met Cyril & that night was crazy! It was everything one’s soul craves. There was an unspeakable connect. It filled the void of my father passing away. Eventually, we saw each other more often. But, after 4 years in India, Cyril was returning to Paris. When he left, I missed him. So, I flew to Paris to see him! That’s how the flying-to-places to see each other started. We had crazy experiences! Once, we got kicked off for smoking in the toilet of the Eurostar! Soon, we decided to move in. I couldn’t wait to start & end my days with him–it was meant to be. We even met each other’s families who were so supportive! In fact, my mom interrogated Cyril but soon they became best friends–they even have an Anti-Keshav Club! We always knew we wanted to marry. But, even though the Supreme court gave us hope, marriage was a far off dream. Still, our love wasn’t bound by restrictions. We decided to have a wedding anyway. We got married twice– in Goa & Paris & it was a dream. Laxmi Narayan Tripathi officiated it! It was a perfect blend of tradition with the contemporary. On the last day we had a Drag Show. I’m a huge enthusiast. So I said why not? I even danced with my mom on ‘Kaisi Paheli Zindagani’. She said-life’s a puzzle, we’ve to solve it & derive happiness from it. That moment of us dancing together, was one of acceptance that came after a long 10 year journey. The world tries to tell you who, when & how to love…Even if you defy it, you’re still a part of it. So, the only thing in your hands is the decision that it’s worth defying. So you should fall freely in love & let the world be damned… because in the end, ‘the one’ is going to end up being your world & that’s all that matters.” — HoB with the makers of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga bring to you unexpected & heartwarming love stories of couples who show that love is love, & the world would be a better place if we just #SetLoveFree. Find the trailer link in our bio.

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