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‘

It’s quite amusing if one takes a look at recent times Lezzy (lesbian) films with an Indian sub-context. Actually No. Let me rephrase this.

Watching the (only) two Lezzy films from mainstream Hindi cinema was an amusing experience, at least for me. I’m referring to Deepa Mehta’s Fire (1998), and blink-and-you-missed-it, Karan Razdan’s Girlfriend (2004). Of course, the two films differed widely in terms of storyline, direction, and other production aspects. Let’s not even go into difference in the acting department.

However the common thread between the two is this: Both films needed a reason for lesbianism. Homosexuality had to be explained and given a valid raison d’etre: the lead characters of both films were abused, sexually and emotionally, by members of the opposite sex, therefore they turned to other women for ‘solace’.

The latest entrant in the Desi lesbian film circuit is Manan Katohora, with When Kiran Met Karen (WKMK), with newbies Chriselle Almeida and Kelli Holsopple playing the respective lead characters. My inbox has been flooded with mails titled, subtitled and signed off with JMD (Jai Mata Di)-invoking PR for the film. If you are a member of those International filmy Yahoo! Groups you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Click here to continue reading ‘When Kiran Met Karen : Master Piece or Just For Titillation?’

It’s kind of hard to believe that I belong to the same culture whose women were blessed with a pre-marriage custom, popularly known as “the Swayamvar”. Be it Indumathi, Sita and Draupathi; all they were expected to do was look pretty and walk down the aisle with a bulky garland in hand, while the prospective bridegrooms were put through various tests in order to prove their worth in the eyes of their desired princess. Now whatever happened to the after-marriage lives of some of these women (vanvaas, agni pariksha & polyandry), I shall ignore for the convenience of this post.

But as it is often said, “all good things come to an end” similarly the time-honoured practice of Swayamvar went through drastic changes, slowly and gradually tilting more and more in the favour of the opposite sex. Garlands got replaced with “chai ki thali” and instead of the man; the probable bride is the one who gets checked out by the groom and his entire khandan. The eligible bachelor has the liberty of interrogating as many potential wives before selecting the one. My cousin brother zipped through 39 finally settling down with my sister-in-law, the 40^th arranged proposal on his list. Whereas for my bhabi, he was the first and the last.

And this number game according to me is quite skewed.

Click here to continue reading ‘The ‘M’ Word Part 8: On A Bridal Spree’