New Delhi, Nov. 27 -- Pavan stepped into the shade of an awning and pulled out his phone. All the main headlines confirmed the news that the Supreme Court had decriminalized homosexuality in India. He decided not to take the bus to the railway station and instead to keep walking, captivated by all that he saw unfolding openly on the streets. He passed a tall man draped in a sequinned dupatta swaying on the pavement. A woman raced around him in rings, trailing her rainbow flag like a cape, half singing, half yelling. The man weaved his body in time. By their side, two men exchanged a very brief kiss.

Pavan watched them for a few seconds and became aware that someone might be watching him watching them. His face hardened. The rest of the w...