The Rajshri Khote Guardian of Love Award 2025

The Rajshri Khote Guardian of Love Award is no ordinary recognition — it carries the profound legacy of Rajshri Khote, affectionately known as Munni Pua.

At a time when the queer community faced rejection from most public spaces, Munni Pua’s home became a haven. For nearly 20 years, her doors were always open to GayBombay, where tea, samosas, laughter, and unconditional love wove a family not bound by blood, but by compassion, kindness, and solidarity.

Though Munni Pua left us in March 2019, her legacy of warmth and acceptance lives on through this award — honouring straight allies who stand as true guardians of love, offering their steadfast support to the LGBTQ+ community in moments of both struggle and celebration.

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Honouring the First Recipient – Gaver Chhachhia (She/Her)

The very first recipient of the Rajshri Khote Award is someone whose life and love embody the spirit that Munni Pua inspired: Gaver Chhachhia, the courageous mother of Harpreet.

A single parent who has been both mother and father to her children, Gaver’s story is one of remarkable resilience and unconditional love. In 1991, when her son Harpreet came out as gay at the age of 16, she met him not with judgment but with an open heart — embracing the kindness and truth she recognised in him.

Her home became a safe space not only for her son but also for his friends from the queer community, where acceptance was always abundant. Over the years, Gaver has proudly stood alongside Harpreet at Pride marches, lent her voice to panel discussions with other parents, and emerged as a warrior mother — fierce, loving, and unafraid to fight for the dignity of all LGBTQ+ families.

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A Legacy of Love

In presenting Gaver Chhachhia with the Rajshri Khote Guardian of Love Award 2025, we celebrate not just a mother’s boundless love, but also her courage to stand tall in a world that too often sought to silence queer voices.

Her journey reminds us that the strongest families are those built on acceptance, and that the truest allies are those who love without condition.

Please join us in honouring Gaver Chhachhia — the first-ever recipient of this award, and a shining symbol of what it means to be a true Guardian of Love.