Gay Prince and editor of India's first gay lifestyle magazine, His Royal Highness Prince Manvendra Singh gets candid
Gay Prince and editor of India's first gay lifestyle magazine, His Royal Highness Prince Manvendra Singh gets candidManvendra Singh Gohil's parents accepted his sexuality only after he appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in October 2007. The gay prince of Rajpipla in Gujarat, was disowned by his father Maharana Shri Raghubir Singhji Rajendrasinghji Sahib when the family discovered his love for men. Deprived of the comfort of his rajgharana, Gohil found solace in yoga and music.
Last year, the 46 year-old launched India's first lifestyle magazine for gays. A class apart from other activist-heavy publications, Fun spans gay fashion, health and sexuality, gadgets and relationships. "There was a need to highlight issues faced by the gay community, which the mainstream media was not addressing adequately. Fun is a spokesperson of the community," says Gohil, who believes the magazine could appeal to straight women too, "and anyone else who loves men."
Gohil, who had a conservative upbringing in Ajmer, and a short-lived marriage with Yuvrani Chandrika Kumari of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, smiles when he says the mag's subscription has crossed 40,000. The contributions come from the queer community and its sympathisers. They are then sifted through by the editorial team before deciding what makes for the best fit.
"We did a story on penis fracture, and that's something most people hadn't heard of. A survey on 11 of the most kissable men was a hit too. Everything we feature is out of the box, quite literally," says Gohil, who is also behind Doctor Good Love, which answers queries about relationships and sex. Gohil has designed subscription and 'over-the-counter' models for the magazine. The mag is also available off social networking platforms like Facebook and Planet Romeo.
"We haven't heard of any protest, never received a threatening call or registered an objection against the magazine. Advertisements aren't a hassle either. We have clients from Bollywood, the hospitality industry and innerwear labels," he says.The glossy usually features male models on the cover along with an in-depth interview. And if Gohil is to be believed, it's not been particularly tough convincing them to come on board. "Actually, we have a long waiting list of models who wish to pose for us. And we aren't restricting ourselves to gays. We had actor Sonu Sood on one of our covers. We just want people who understand our cause."
