lucknow he was a fountainhead of knowledge a reserved historian with a sense of humour that lifted the spirits of his friends and a man who was a confidante to many members of the lgbtqai communitynoted historian and gay rights activist saleem kidwai who left lucknow and this world for the hereafter on monday morning left behind him generations of students scholars intellectuals friends community and brethren mourning this sudden and irreparable loss to culturewith fever gripping him a couple of days back kidwai 70 fell to an unknown infection in lungs that spread to the heartcoauthor of same sex love in india readings from literature and history with ruth vanita kidwai opened up about his own sexuality in the 198090s as a professor of history at ramjas collegehe returned to lucknow after taking a vrs in 2002 where he became the support system for several closeted community members in fact it was his book that featured in the supreme courts judgment that struck down a part of section 377 of the indian penal codenot just an admirer of begum akhtar kidwai was an insider in the life of the music doyen and knew her personally she was also his neighbour the loss of saleem would perhaps take forever to sink in he was the foundation of sanatkada a gotoperson for not just his friends but all who visited the city from far and beyond researchers scholars intellectuals members of the gay community history and arts lovers would all want to meet him when in town and he would give them an opportunity to pick his brain said friend and founder of sanatkada madhavi kuckreja saleem kidwai r with begum akhtar and agha shahid alihe was very particular with the written word what would go in our social media posts publications and all other literary aspects of sanatkada had the saleem stamp on them he would even chide me when there was carelessness in any such aspect he held so dearly she addedkidwai was buried at his ancestral town of baragaon in barabanki district on monday amid rainshe once said that begum akhtars funeral took place in the dark during torrential rains and that a flock of white birds flew across the sky that day metaphorically so saleems burial was also under the rainy sky that seemed to remind us of the fondness he held for begum akhtar even during his death she added mythologist and author devdutt pattnaik also paid his tribute to kidwai he wrote just heard about saleem kidwai passing awayfeeling so sadmet him so many times after i read same sex love in india and he spoke so wonderfully about his gay lifeactor and director sudhanva deshpande said a brilliant teacher a thoughtful thinker wonderful scholar the nicest man when i think grace and dignity i think saleem the discourse around gay issues was advanced greatly by him and his work he was a nurturing presence both as a teacher and an activist never sought