Born in 1979, growing up in a small former principality of Chhota Udaipur, Sylvie had a strong affinity for books and frequently visited bookstores, spending pocket money saved over time on novels and magazines to dive into the world they presented. Little did he know that unbeknownst to himself, he was gathering ammo to face the challenges life would throw at him. That was the making of the incredibly well-read, articulate, generous but feisty LGBTQIA activist, Sylvester Merchant, who would be in charge of co-founding Lakshya Trust in Gujarat, focusing on the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Sylvester gets his rebel streak from his parents. His father, Franklin Merchant, was a Protestant Christian and his mother, Gangaben, a tribal woman. Their love, especially in that era, was strictly unacceptable to their families as well as the society. However, not the ones to back out, and they tied the knot nevertheless.

“My father passed away when I was one; my mother had no choice but to work. I guess this made me self-reliant from an early age, taking care of myself and the house.” Sylvester had a normal childhood but always knew he was different. “I was at peace with the fact that I was attracted to boys. There was no internal conflict but only the desire to know and understand more.” But society had objections and lost no chance in voicing them. The first name-calling was from a school peon. “I complained to the principal. My Science and Maths teacher, Soundarya Raman, stood by me.”

All ridicule and discrimination gave birth to confused and negative emotions, subsequently driving him to the verge of depression. He found solace in his love for reading. “My quest for information and knowledge helped me overtake the whole confusion. ‘Debonair’ was probably the only magazine then which openly talked about different sexualities and same-sex relations and had progressive articles by Ashok Row Kavi, the famous gay rights activist.”

Owing to his mother’s poor health, they had to move to another town and this affected his studies. “I was vulnerable and easily affected by peers’ reactions. I was clear about my sexual orientation…I wish I had the confidence to face the world.”

Sylvester had to discontinue his formal education but was determined to chart it out on his own. A pioneer of transgender entrepreneurship. By the age of 18, he established Merchant Overseas and became the youngest import and export license holder for handicraft export.

Satellite television telecasted progressive shows like Donahue, in which male strippers were invited and Indian soaps like Tara, which normalised effeminate males. “Ashok Row Kavi, the founder of the magazine Bombay Dost, was a panelist on the chat show, Chakravyuh, hosted by the late Vinod Dua. Reading his magazine was like a homecoming. But it also made me think of all the vernacular readers in the community who did not have any such medium to reach out to or educate themselves. It was India’s first registered magazine for the LGBTQ+ community and also became the medium to meet Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil… and this motivated me to launch something similar in Gujarat.”