Updated On: 18 April, 2023 12:05 PM IST | Mumbai | Maitrai Agarwal
Representation of happy queer couples has often escaped the mainstream narrative. Ankur and Deepak, cis-gay men who have been together for 12 years, help us understand the nuances of queer love and partnership

Ankur and Deepak are pet parents to two dogs, and have rescued over 200 dogs. Photo courtesy: Ankur
Relationships are complex, queer relationships even more so. While there are many similarities between cis-het (cis-gender heterosexual) and queer couples in terms of the hopes and dreams they nurture, there are glaring differences as well. In a cis-het normative society, the dearth of representation is a roadblock in self-identification, and the stressors stemming from a queer identity add to the burden of a relationship. In a country like India where LGBTQIA+ individuals grow up without examples of queer couples around them or in media, stories of happy queer couples in long-term relationships allow them to be hopeful of a future where they can too be happy.
“There are very few examples of successful queer relationships. The representation of happy couples is a possibility of a future wherein gay men may not need to marry women to have some semblance of a family, and may offer parents an alternative window which allows them to become optimistic about their queer child’s future,” says Ankur who identifies as a cis-gay man, and lives with his partner of 12 years, Deepak.
After meeting through a dating website in 2010, they now live together in Bengaluru with their dogs, and work as 3D animators. However, the road to domesticity was not a smooth ride, and they had to strive hard to persevere.