Tag: Digital Media | Varta Trust

This graphic shows a colourful, roughly circular word cloud created with key words and phrases that appear in the accompanying article. The key words used in the graphic include disability, rare diseases, hope, potential, champion, possibilities, technology, accessibility and allyship. The word cloud, with a mix of colours like blue, green, magenta, purple and amber, appears on a white background. The shape, colours and the text of the graphic together seem to create a strong symbol of positivity and empowerment. Graphic credit: Pawan Dhall

Where there’s a will, there’s a champion!

By Shubhra Sinha

‘FebRAREuary2026’ was a month-long campaign on spreading awareness about rare diseases organized by World Without GNE Myopathy, Delhi. Shubhra Sinha shares her story written for the campaign

This image is a combination of a screengrab from ‘Wikipedia’ and text extracted from the accompanying article. The screengrab shows a sample of Bengali Braille alphabets as used in print in both India and Bangladesh. All the vowel alphabets and some of the consonant alphabets can be seen in the image displayed in four rows. In each row, the alphabets used by people with vision are presented in a sub-row on top, while the Braille version of each alphabet is provided below in a second sub-row. The extracted text says: “These hurdles deepen the already familiar link between poverty and disability in South Asia. Many visually disabled users rely entirely on limited mobile data, making the conversion of image PDFs an exhausting, sometimes impossible task. Students are particularly affected. A visually disabled undergraduate at Jadavpur University, educated in Bengali, told me she often has to depend on human readers for class materials. Her peers in English-medium programmes can download accessible texts immediately, while she faces a long and anxious wait.” Source: ‘Wikipedia’

Insight Jan '26

How language barriers create a privileged hierarchy for India’s disabled

By Dr. Ishan Chakraborty

With World Braille Day just gone past, Dr. Ishan Chakraborty highlights the challenges faced by Bengali-speaking visually disabled people in accessing digital content in their tongue

This photograph shows a scene from the re-enactment of the skit ‘Koti Ki Atma’ at Café Adda Ghar, Kolkata on November 4, 2023. Three actors are acting out a scene before a small invited audience. The play is being performed in an open but small and intimate part of the café, lit with a few overhead lamps and other sources of light not visible in the photograph. A black cloth background and a few props form the backdrop behind the actors who are facing the camera. Some of the members of the audience visible in the photograph, half a dozen or so (of the total 40-45), are seated close to the actors on plastic chairs, and have a bemused look as they watch the play up close. A video camera can be seen on the left edge of the photograph recording the play. A photographer, with her camera in hand, is also among the audience, standing just next to the people seated. Darkened tall glass panes forming one of the walls of the café can be seen behind her. A poster of the café menu is pasted on one of the glass panes. Photo credit: Suchandragraphy

From the Archives, Insight Jul '24

Remembered sexual futures

By Diksha Sanyal

Diksha Sanyal summarizes a study on the art and cultural advocacies undertaken by queer community groups in West Bengal in the 1990s and 2000s. The study has been co-developed by...

This image is a sketch of Arvey Malhotra’s face drawn by Rimu Panda and posted on Instagram along with a line that says “Sweet soul, we are all sorry.” In the sketch, a youthful Arvey is looking at the reader, gently smiling and holding up his hands to show nails painted in different patterns and colours. Arvey was a jewellery and nail paint artist. He is wearing a red ring on the ring finger on his left hand. He has a thick mop of hair and is bearded. He is wearing a light brown pullover jacket. The artist has drawn a small white halo above Arvey’s head to the left side of the image. The sketch has a pleasing background of hues of pink, yellow and orange. The image has been slightly edited by the author of the article Mihir Seth

Insight, Vartanama Mar '24

The paradoxical need for queer death

By Mihir Seth

Death by suicide among queer youth should galvanize action to address the global mental health crisis, argues Mihir Seth

This illustration is a combination of a vertically oriented photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph shows an evening time long-shot of the city of Aizawl spread across a hillside. The hillside is bedecked with the lights from the houses appearing like jewels. The cloudy sky above the city is filled with shades of violet and blue as the distant horizon is lit up with the last of the sunlight. The entire scene is breathtaking even as it is poignant. The accompanying text says: “I finally saved up a good sum and planned to return to Manipur directly from Aizawl. There was so much heartbreak as I looked back at my stay in Mizoram – there had been much beauty amid the chaos. Before I left, I offered a small sum of money to my Kuki neighbours. They too were from Imphal and their mother was battling cancer. The old woman thanked me and said, ‘God be with you till we meet again.’ This moment made everything that I’d been through worth it for I was filled with purpose and love.” Photo credit: Saki

Insight, Manipur Relief Feb '24

Homecoming again, for healing

By Saki

Saki concludes his account of the communal conflict in Manipur – he returns home after four life-changing months to engage in work that heals others and him

This illustration is a square-shaped collage created from scraps of magazine articles and photographs. Two post boxes, one in red and black, and another in red, peach and black colours, are superimposed on a background created by images of flowering shrubs in gardens, tall trees, and cotton white clouds in a blue sky. The post boxes seem to be floating in mid-air, perhaps conveying a sense of lightness of being. Scattered, random text can be seen on the post boxes. Someone is standing right behind the all-red post box; just their arms visible on the sides of the post box, which seems to have become part of their persona. Artwork credit: Tanvir

My Story Nov '23

Imagining queer futures in letters

By Tanvir

Tanvir on the role played by letters and the emotions contained in them (or attached to them) in queer community building

Vartanama Jul '23

Tensions of the past and future

By Pawan Dhall

An imperfect digest of ‘Varta’ webzine’s journey through a decade of climaxes, anti-climaxes, and explorations for a social G-spot

This is a cheerful daytime mid-shot of a green canopy of trees taken from below. The photograph shows a variety of foliage in layers, extending from clumps of relatively larger leaves in the foreground to a network of trunks, branches, twigs, and smaller and ornate leaves higher up. Different shades of green lend a touch of drama to the scene. The sky peers through the gaps in the canopy. Photo credit: Pawan Dhall

Vartanama May '23

Me and myself

By Pawan Dhall

Pawan Dhall still can’t shell out two-minute wisdoms on Instagram Reels. Here’s a two-minute essay instead on clicking an inner selfie

Quote: The right to be recognized in one’s own name, the right to one’s bodily autonomy, the right to be a citizen in one’s own gender identity are basic rights in any functioning democracy. Despite the rich, albeit mired, history of transgender identities, and their inclusion and exclusion, in the Indian subcontinent, today, we are dealing with an issue that can make or break people. It can give transgender people the freedom to fly and claim each and every right possible in their own identity, or else it can entwine their lives into a bureaucratic nightmare.

Insight, Vartanama Oct '22

Trans identities lost in a bureaucratic haze

By Debjyoti Ghosh

Why does West Bengal have such a poor rate of transgender identity certification? Debjyoti Ghosh raises pertinent questions

From the Archives, Vartanama Sep '22

Can a post office be your hero?

By Pawan Dhall

A visit to the Ballygunge Post Office after more than a year reminds the author of his relationship with this ‘heritage site’ for Kolkata and India’s queer movements

Vartanama Apr '22

A hundred it is

By Pawan Dhall

Pawan Dhall is happy-tired on the occasion, and invites you to share your feelings and thoughts

This graphic consists of two thought clouds placed next to each other inside a horizontal rectangle. The first cloud on the left says “You must be aware about protecting your OTP – onetime password.” The second cloud on the right is much larger and says “But what about safeguarding your ORTP – online right to privacy?” The text in both the clouds is in a bold typeface. The smaller cloud has text in black, while the bigger one has larger text in red. The clouds are coloured in different shades of yellow and placed against a striking blue and lavender background. Graphic credit: Pawan Dhall

Insight, Policy Matters Nov '21

Is digitization the new bed fellow for anti-queer discrimination?

By Brindaalakshmi K.

The author wants to alert queer people in India against an uncritical embracing of digital inclusion

This graphic is a combination of an extract from the accompanying article and the visual of a New Year’s greeting card, one among 3,000 such letters and cards that Kolkata-based Counsel Club, one of India’s earliest queer support groups (1993-2002), used to receive in the 1990s and early 2000s. The greeting card has three flaps. The central one is empty and the extract text, printed on a yellow vertical rectangle that looks similar to the postcards issued by India Post, is placed on this empty space. The flap to the left of the rectangle shows a pretty bouquet of flowers growing out of a pink heart. The flap to the right of the rectangle is a cut-out of an enchanting forest and a white dove flapping its wings. The text placed on the central flap says: “To me it is important to construct historical narratives that do not present queer identities and experiences as monolithic. By including personal documents and narratives, archives allow us to tell not one history, but multiple histories. Stories contained in the archives can provide leverage and evidence for activists as they bear witness to the pain and discrimination faced by queer people. The Counsel Club Archives definitely changed and expanded the way that I understand queerness in the context of my own hometown, Kolkata.” Graphic credit: Pawan Dhall

From the Archives, Insight Oct '21

Accessing a shared past for a shared future

By Yashita Kandhari

Yashita Kandhari on her experience of discovering and getting involved with a queer archiving initiative in her hometown Kolkata

The graphic shows a multi-coloured word cloud formed with key terms and expressions used in the accompanying article. For example: Mental health, disability, caregiving, autism, coronavirus, pandemic, anxiety, panic attack, counselling, support group, stress and so on. The word cloud does not form any particular shape or does not carry any particular symbolism. It is contained in a rectangle with a deep blue background that helps the words stand out. Graphic credit: Pawan Dhall

Happenings Jun '21

Stress management for caregivers during COVID-19 pandemic

By Amrita Chanda

Amrita Chanda reports on a recent online interaction on the mental health needs of the caregivers of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

This illustration is a combination of a photograph and a quote from the accompanying article. To the left is a day-time medium shot of S. Lipsa Rao, a transgender woman from Odisha, who is the central character in the article. Lipsa is in a pensive mood. She is dressed in a deep blue kurta and white pyjamas, with a small bindi on her forehead and her hair tied back in a ponytail. She leans on to a low wall that forms the boundary of an open space outside her home. Her face rests on her right hand, and her right elbow is placed on the ledge of the wall. Her gaze is away from the camera, to the right side. The ledge, low wall and a wall behind her are all painted white. Behind her is a glimpse of a door. The accompanying quote says: “In November last year Lipsa had a lucky break when she managed a job as office support staff in the Jatni Municipality. This brought financial stability to her life. But she feels little reason to rejoice. She worries about the fate of her friends who have not had the same educational opportunities as she has had. In the current circumstances, not just jobs in an office are out of their reach – even their traditional livelihoods are being lost.” Photo courtesy: S. Lipsa Rao

Coronavirus Diary, Policy Matters May '21

Pandemic impact on a loop?

By Pradosh Dash

What has changed for the transgender women in Odisha since the COVID-19 pandemic led to the crippling lockdowns of 2020? Pradosh Dash spoke to S. Lipsa Rao, a transgender community...

Creations, Insight Dec '20

Ephemera, archiving and accessibility

By Subhradeep Chatterjee

Subhradeep Chatterjee on his labour of love, the ‘Ephemeriad Project – Archiving Temporality’

Tagged Under: Digital Media

Where there’s a will, there’s a champion!

How language barriers create a privileged hierarchy for India’s disabled

Remembered sexual futures

The paradoxical need for queer death

Homecoming again, for healing

Imagining queer futures in letters

Tensions of the past and future

Me and myself

Trans identities lost in a bureaucratic haze

Can a post office be your hero?

A hundred it is

Is digitization the new bed fellow for anti-queer discrimination?

Accessing a shared past for a shared future

Stress management for caregivers during COVID-19 pandemic

Pandemic impact on a loop?

Ephemera, archiving and accessibility

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