New Delhi, April 6 -- Towards the end of Santanu Bhattacharya's novel Deviants, Vivaan, who is one of the three protagonists, has a heart-to-heart with his beloved uncle, his "Mambro", a clever pun he had conjured up as an eight-year-old to refer to his mother's brother. Like Vivaan, Mambro is gay, as was Mambro's uncle Sukumar-Vivaan's Grand-Mamu-in another era. Homosexuality is not just the thread that connects three generations of their Bengali family; it is the ground on which relationships between parents and siblings mature and ripen.

Vivaan, who is on the cusp of adulthood, is growing up in contemporary India, where being gay is no longer a crime. His parents support his choices firmly, speak up for his rights on public platforms ...