Category: Vartanama | Varta Trust

This image shows a still from the award-winning documentary film ‘Amma’s Pride’ directed by Shiva Krish. In the image, Srija, the main protagonist of the film is seen smiling and talking on her mobile phone, while Valli, her mother, looks on standing next to her also smiling brightly. Mother and daughter are both inside their house, and in the background can be seen sundry household objects placed on shelves or hanging on walls. The background objects have been slightly blurred to enhance the focus on Srija and Valli. Image courtesy Shiva Krish

Pursuing resilience, embracing hope

By Meghjit Sengupta, Pawan Dhall

Meghjit Sengupta reflects on an event centred around award-winning documentary ‘Amma’s Pride’, the story of transgender woman Srija whose marriage to Arunkumar, a cisgender man, in 2019 set a legal...

This indoor mid-range photograph shows drag artiste Ahon Gooptu acting out a scene from the show ‘Item’. The performance space is a room painted white, with wooden furniture, a door and two windows polished brown; the room has a tiled floor and a high ceiling with beams running criss-cross. The room has a blue and white, staid ambient light. A lightly bearded and moustachioed Ahon is dressed in a light-coloured saree, full-sleeved blouse, light jewellery on his neck, wrists, fingers, and ears, and designer footwear; his shoulder-length hair is curly and untied. Ahon is seated at a wooden table, one leg over the other. The table top is cluttered with a table lamp illuminating the wall next to it, a painted flower vase with artificial flowers, a small wooden case, a couple of Japanese hand fans, and four sets of blingy goggles. Ahon has a pensive, far-off look as he mouths some dialogues. A few greeting cards and cutouts are pasted on the wall next to the table. One of them, with rainbow hues, says “Fab Yule Us”, while another says “You’re a cut above the rest.” A little distance behind Ahon is a full-length, wooden-framed mirror placed in a corner against the wall. Two windows, their shutters closed, can be seen on the walls next to the mirror. A pink dupatta and a blanket with two shades of green hang from a beam on the ceiling adding to the colourful but restrained ambience. Photo credit: Abhilasha Das

Insight, Vartanama Apr '25

Zenia, ‘Item’ and the future of the (western) queer dream

By Mihir Seth

Mihir Seth fears the dream of being oneself is crumbling as queer and transgender rights face setbacks globally

Quote: The value of oral histories is especially significant for socially marginalized communities whose stories are often silenced, distorted, or wiped out by the dominant groups. The very act of remembering and narrating can be seen as an act of defiance against silencing. We need to do more and more of oral histories – narrate, record, disseminate, and even re-narrate our stories far and wide. When a story becomes like a living organism, the task of silencing becomes more difficult for those who want only one narrative to survive.

Vartanama Mar '25

Memory works

By Pawan Dhall

Pawan Dhall on the many hues of remembering – personal, political, accepting imperfections and more

The photograph shows a close-up shot of a large collection of clocks with wooden casings in different shapes and sizes. There are large wall clocks, much smaller table clocks, and many sizes in between. Most clocks are round, while some are square or hexagonal. Some of the clocks have ornate hour and minute hands. The clock faces show different times, but all the clocks seem to be dysfunctional, discarded, and piled up in a container, which is not visible in the photograph. Photo credit: Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Poetry, Vartanama Feb '25

The 51st winter

By Rajib Chakrabarti

Rajib Chakrabarti has no qualms about accepting the severity of old age

This photograph shows a close-up shot of some of the books mentioned by the author in the accompanying article. One lot of five books are kept in a not-so-neat vertical pile on the author’s study table. These include T. J. Klune’s ‘In the Lives of Puppets’, ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ and ‘Somewhere Beyond the Sea’, Aiden Thomas’ ‘Cemetery Boys’, and Mason Deaver’s ‘Wish You All the Best’ right on top of the pile. Lex Croucher’s ‘Gwen & Art Are Not in Love’ is placed reclining on the pile on the right- hand side. To the pile’s left is the cover page of Andrew Joseph White’s ‘Hell Followed with Us’ visible on a Kindle e-reader. An open laptop, pen stand, and photo frame can be seen crowding the same study table as the books. In the background are two almirahs and a door ajar. Photo credit: Mihir Seth

Printed Word, Vartanama Jan '25

Notes on hoping taken from teenage queer fiction

By Mihir Seth

Mihir Seth finds the strength to go on in queer stories of trials, tribulations and hope

This square-like graphic is a stylistic representation of a photograph of a daytime view taken from a window in the author’s room in his new home. The view consists of a bright blue sky speckled with light clouds, a pine and a neem tree in the foreground, and glimpses of some houses painted in light colours behind the trees. The lower part of the photograph is presented as the cutout of a human face looking downwards or inwards to symbolize self-reflection. The cutout is juxtaposed against a white background. Two vertical lines in black on the left and right edges of the photograph give the impression of a window frame. Photo credit: Pawan Dhall

Vartanama Dec '24

Gains, losses, glosses

By Pawan Dhall

End / beginning of the year self-reflection notes by Pawan Dhall

This image is a combination of a photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph, to the left of the image, is an early morning mid-range shot of a tall ‘shimul’ tree beginning to put out new, light green leaves during springtime. The tree seems to have two trunks that tower into the sky with a mesh of branches and stems bearing newly sprouted leaves in small bunches. The upper reaches of the tree are juxtaposed against a light blue grey sky, with a couple of cable wires passing by the top of the tree. More trees, including a palm tree, and a part of a building can be seen in the background. The location is near the author’s earlier home in Kolkata. The accompanying text says: “The Internet is replete with explanations for the Portuguese term 'saudade', which some say is untranslatable. 'Saudade' isn't the same as nostalgia, which is a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or period, sometimes along with the people who were around then. What I’ve grasped about 'saudade' so far is that it’s a more complex form of nostalgia, perhaps even nostalgia for nostalgia. One website describes 'saudade' as a vague and constant desire for something that doesn't and probably can't exist, for something other than the present. It seems akin to the presence of an absence.” Photo credit: Pawan Dhall

Travel Travel, Vartanama Nov '24

Remembrances more than nostalgia

By Pawan Dhall

Pawan Dhall writes about his musings on 'saudade' – the presence of absence?

This daytime photograph shows 13 of the pilot Queer Kolkata Heritage Walk participants, a mix of genders and ages, posing for the camera below a gazebo at the Park Circus Maidan in South Kolkata on July 2, 2024. The gazebo was the starting point for ‘Friendship Walk ‘99’ on July 2, 1999, the 25th anniversary of which was observed through the heritage walk. Most of the participants, four of them ‘99ers’, are wearing bright yellow t-shirts designed for the occasion with the slogan “Bound by friendship, united in pride” emblazoned on the front side. There are brights smiles and laughter on their faces as they stand on the marble steps and platform of the gazebo, and look at the camera or at each other. Blue jeans, shorts, shoes, shoulder bags, and colourful umbrellas of the walkers compliment the bright green of the grass and shrubs behind the gazebo. The asbestos roof of the gazebo has an interesting pattern of blue, gray and rust, which stands out against the overcast sky. The pillars of the gazebo holding up the roof are coloured bottle green. Someone’s bedding and other personal possessions, possibly a street dweller’s, can be seen on the platform behind some of the walkers. Photo credit: Partha Banerjee

Happenings, Vartanama Sep '24

Where do we go to look for queerness in Kolkata?

By Mihir Seth

Mihir Seth reflects on the pilot Queer Kolkata Heritage Walk held on July 2, 2024 to mark the 25th anniversary of ‘Friendship Walk ‘99’

This night-time photograph shows up close a scene from a pre-Independence Day rally near the Ruby Hospital crossing in South Kolkata to protest the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at R. G. Kar Medical College & Hospital on August 9, 2024. A throng of people fill up the photograph with raised fists, mobile phones with lit torches held up, banners with slogans like “We demand justice for victim” in English and Bengali, and a variety of posters with graphics and textual material. Some protesters are holding lit candles. The atmosphere seems charged with anger and cries for justice. In the background, is a building with its windows lit up and a large tree with leaves glistening under the streetlights. Photo credit: Pawan Dhall

Vartanama Aug '24

Embodying the justice one is demanding

By Pawan Dhall

Self-reflection and self-transformation have an important place in social campaigns for justice, argues Pawan Dhall

Quote: News channels air yoga shows to promote positivity. Harness your inner potential, says your favourite superstar. Universities are asked to present the shining glorious history of the nation state to inculcate positivity about the country. Health gurus ask you to consume avocado and chia seeds and quinoa for unleashing your inner efficient innovator. Therapy speak has become commonsensical. The joke goes I am ready to date you if you can pay for my therapy post our breakup. The catalogue is never ending, but scratch the surface only slightly and the edifice falls apart like your nearest shining airport or the Parliament.

Vartanama Jul '24

On the compulsion to be happy

By Sayan Bhattacharya

Amidst the unending stream of ‘happiness’ being thrust on us from every quarter, Sayan Bhattacharya strikes a necessary discordant note

Happenings, Vartanama Jun '24

Celebrating the magic of friendship

By Pritha Bhattacharya, Sambrita Chakraborty

Pritha Bhattacharya and Sambrita Chakraborty report on an art exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of ‘Friendship Walk ‘99’, India’s first rainbow pride walk held in Kolkata on July 2,...

Vartanama May '24

Celebrating 25 years of friendship, pride and diversity

By 'Friendship Walk 25th Anniversary' organizing team

Extracts from a pamphlet for the 25th anniversary observations of ‘Friendship Walk ‘99’ to be held in Kolkata and other places in West Bengal primarily in July 2024