The one thing Indians hear unanimously, irrespective of which part of the country we grew up in, is – "family is everything." We are repeatedly told that a person's family will be there for them when no one else will. We are told that there is no bond like the familial bond.
As an indigenous queer woman, running a queer feminist resource group, I agree with all of the above. But who constitutes a family isn't just about biology.
Not all natal families step up for us in times of need. This is where chosen families – the ones who love us unabashedly for what we are, who we are, and what we stand for – come in.