This ad, which is part of a campaign called 'Bold is Beautiful' is going viral with close to a million views (at the time of writing this). Myntra, a major brand in India, running a spot like this is quite heartening to see, especially when gay sex has been criminalised in India by a Supreme Court ruling.

History has taught us time and again that in order for a society to grow and advance culturally and technologically, there needs to be room for artists to push the boundaries and to question conventional thinking. The best works in art, engineering, design and philosophy have come out of the most liberal of places. Leonardo Da Vinci and Florence come to my mind as the best example of this.

95% of the people in any society are too scared to push the boundaries and do anything that might jeopardise their societal status and recognition, and end up following down the well-defined and widely-accepted path of leading their life. But, those who have the responsibility of shaping the thinking of this 95%, be it religious institutions or the government or the judiciary system, can exercise it to either set a tone of acceptance and tolerance or persecution and intolerance.

Personally, I'm a liberal at heart and am very happy when a well-recognised mainstream brand takes up a position to support and encourage liberal thoughts, because apart from the government and religious institutions who govern by laws and beliefs, popular brands have an equally important influence by way of aspiration. They play an equally important role in shaping the culture of the 95%. And for that, I appreciate Myntra for doing this.