Why didn’t Mumbai have the Pride march when the other three metro cities were having it?

Well, on June 29 Delhi, Calcutta and Bangalore had their Rainbow marches, and as a commentor on my previous post pointed out (Thanks for the info, Sachin), Mumbai is having one too. For those of you who’ve just come in, the Pride is a march taken out by the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual) or, in short, the Queer community to protest their marginalisation in our hetero-centric society.

However, Mumbai did not have the Pride march the same day as it was happening in other cities (a first for Delhi) in India, not to mention across the globe. And I thought to myself:

1.Why?

2.Didn’t this show a disturbing lack of solidarity by the Mumbai queer community for their counterparts in the rest of country?

3.Was it just the lack of organisation?

And

4.Now that we’re having one, I’m curious, why adopt a different name ‘QueerAzadi’?

I posed these questions to two prominent LGBT activists, Ashok Row Kavi (UNAIDS, Humsafar) and Geeta Kumana (INFOSEM), who are also part of the organising commitee of the upcoming march.

Click here to continue reading ‘Queer Azadi, Mumbai Ishtyle‘

"Don’t let it get you down" a concerned friend said whose shoulder I have been utilizing a bit too often nowadays. And yes the cause of my grief continues to be Rakhi Sawant. Well not Ms. Sawant per se but the chain of incorrigible associates in between us.

I am expected to interview the-ex-item girl-and-now-Yash Raj-actress in the next 48 hours and guess what? That’s all I have been told. Where? What time? How much time? Confirmation? - Nothing. I have absolutely no #%@&*%# clue.

The story is pretty much the same; phone calls continue to be ignored, no reply to text messages and emails, probably directed to the trash bin. Frankly speaking when this assignment landed up on my lap practically from nowhere, I thought this to be – an easy stroll @ Juhu Beach. And I had strong reasons to believe so;

a) Interviewed Rakhi on a previous occasion

b) Her media friendly attitude

c) Backing of an International Magazine

d) Assurances from in-industry friends, "Rakhi, arey woh toh tere ghar aake interview degi".

Click here to continue reading ‘Still Breaking’

Sakshi is a big Rakhi Sawant fan – The only line people seem to come up with whenever handed with the responsibility of introducing me to a new set of people. I can’t really blame them though. Ever since I started dedicating wholesome posts in honour of Bolllywood’s most famous Item Girl, my blog’s popularity jumped higher with every controversy she entertained.

Traffic, links, feed counts…you name it, “Rakhi Sawant’s unofficial PR agent of the virtual world” became my by-line. And I lapped it up every single time, never feeling that it’s gotten too much.

Until now that is.

For quite sometime now I have been dabbling with the idea of a career change. Not that my current profession provides me any less; working in a family-owned business has major perks and believe me, I have exploited each to the very maximum. But I guess I have stretched myself a bit too far – 5 years in a field that is interesting but not stimulating enough, for me that is. And since I don’t plan on spending the rest of my (workable) life caught up in the same rut, I have decided its time I take blogging rather more seriously than just a much-loved hobby.

Cutting a long story short – Since I have put myself out in the market, freelance offers have been pouring in. Unfortunately though, quantity is all I have been getting (and no, I am not referring to the paycheck). But as they say, “sabar ka phal meetha hota hai” - Couple of weeks ago an editor texted me for an assignment which, he claimed, only I could truly justify.

Click here to continue reading ‘My Big Break Is Breaking Me Up’