‘Varta’ Webzine | 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 photograph shows a mid-range shot of a collective display of the five zines made by the author Mekuriiko for the exhibition ‘Queer Objects 1.0’ organized in Guwahati in late 2023. Several copies of each of the zine are placed, somewhat casually, on a low box-like display stand. The display is just next to a blank white wall of the exhibition hall. The covers of the zines read ‘Love is Love’, ‘The Queer Manifesto’, ‘Queer Objects’, ‘Queer Revelations’ and ‘You Will Die, And So Will I’. A sticky note next to the zines urges the viewers to flip through the zines. Photo credit: Mekuriiko

Creations, Insight May '25

Storytelling through zines

By Mekuriiko

Mekuriiko writes for the first in a series of articles on the experience of the artists who participated in ‘Queer Objects 1.0’, a one-of-its-kind exhibition held in Guwahati in late...

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

This photograph shows a close-up shot of a slogan printed on a black t-shirt worn by a woman. The slogan says “A woman does not have to be modest in order to be respected.” Two heart signs accompany the text, which is printed in white on the black cloth of the t-shirt. The woman’s face is not visible in the photograph, but a part of her neck and arms are visible. A deep blue sky with white clouds is visible in the background. Photo credit: The frolicsome Fairy on Unsplash

Insight Mar '25

Reclaiming ‘whore’

By Dr. Sankalpa Satapathy

Women, queer and transgender persons must take back the words that men have fabricated with regressive meanings to make them feel ashamed of themselves, says Dr. Sankalpa Satapathy

This is a medium range indoor photograph of the launch ceremony of ‘Kink and Sex Work: A VAMP Institute Report’. The report launch was one of the highlights of ‘Kink Con 24’. Several people can be seen standing in a row, holding up a copy of the report, and facing the camera with a smile. From left to right are kink-affirmative psychologist and report co-author Pompi Banerjee; an anonymous member of the Kinky Collective who has covered their face with the report; feminist activist and report co-author Jaya Sharma; sex worker rights activist Aarthi Pai; theatre artist Mallika Taneja; sex worker rights activist Meena Seshu; and sex educator Leeza Mangaldas. A cinema screen and conference signage can be seen mounted on a wall behind the people mentioned. A few people in the audience can be seen seated while facing away from the camera. The conference room is illuminated gently with a mild golden glow. Photo courtesy Kinky Collective

Happenings Mar '25

On the right to one’s body and desires

By Pompi Banerjee

How sex workers navigate kinky desire and consent in their work was among the central themes of ‘Kink Con 2024’, writes Pompi Banerjee

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 shot of the dialogue ‘Queer Worldmaking in the Face of Conversion Therapy’. Moderator Meghjit Sengupta (centre) and panellist Aritra Chatterjee (to Meghjit’s left) look on as panellist Dr. Meera Dhebar makes a point during the dialogue held at Kalinath Angan in South Kolkata on January 18, 2025. Meera refers to a file on her laptop as she speaks. The laptop is kept on a centre table placed close to the three speakers. A Progress Pride Flag can be seen mounted on the wall behind the speakers. A phone mounted on a tripod stand for recording the dialogue is placed a couple of feet from the speakers. The scene captured in the photograph can also be seen on the mobile phone screen. Photo credit: Pawan Dhall

Happenings, Insight

Queer worldmaking as a form of resilience

By Meghjit Sengupta, Surjo Pramanik

Meghjit Sengupta and Surjo Pramanik report on a dialogue on mental health perspectives from Canada and India organized by the Varta Trust mental health peer counsellors support group

The graphic shows a charcoal grey flag bisected diagonally from the top left corner to the lower right corner by five parallel stripes in red, pale gold, pale grey, light blue, and green, with each element symbolizing different aspects of the disability experience. All six standard flag colours imply that disability spans borders between states and nations; the black field stands for mourning for victims of ableist violence and abuse; the diagonal band implies cutting across the walls and barriers that separate disabled people from society; the red stripe stands for physical disabilities; the gold one for cognitive disabilities; the white stripe for invisible and undiagnosed disabilities; the blue stripe for psychiatric disabilities; and the green stripe for sensory disabilities. The graphic shows the visually safe Disability Pride Flag, an evolution of the ‘lightning bolt’ Disability Pride Flag. The redesigned flag is safer for people with visually-triggered disabilities and more accessible to people with colour blindness. Flag design credit: Ann Magill

Poetry Feb '25

On disabled resistance and community

By Nu Misra

Disabled persons do not need to be pathologized, patronized or pitied, says Nu Misra

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 photograph taken in the fading light of an autumn sunset shows a close-up of a bunch of yellow, brown, and reddish leaves that are on a tree. The rusty yet colourful leaves are juxtaposed against a fine mesh of branches, twigs, green leaves, and the background sky visible through the gaps in the mesh. Some of the leaves are lit up a yellow-orange with their veins clearly visible as the sunlight falls on them. Photo credit: Syed Ahmad on Unsplash

Poetry Jan '25

Nurture sub rosa

By Rajib Chakrabarti

To mellow is not to lose lustre, says Rajib Chakrabarti

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 illustration is a combination of a photograph and text extracted from the accompanying article. The photograph shows a scene from a media conference held at the Press Club Kolkata on December 3, 2024 to disseminate the findings of a survey of the one stop crisis centres running in the four states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The survey was conducted by the Women Gaining Ground consortium. The author and two other speakers Chitrita Bandpadhyay and Jhuma Sen can be seen sitting behind a table and addressing the audience. Behind the speakers, a flex banner mounted on the wall, reads “Sruti Disability Rights Centre invites you to sharing of survey report of one stop crisis centres from four states”. The event date and venue are mentioned below this text. The logos of Women Gaining Ground and Sruti Disability Rights Centre are placed at the lower right corner of the flex. The text extract says: “There are two major concerns that came forth from the survey. First, not a single OSCC addresses the concerns of women with disabilities. The buildings are not barrier-free, and no support persons like sign language interpreters or trauma-informed psychologists have been recruited. The staff of the centres seem completely unaware of the needs of women with disabilities. None of the centres is connected to the National Tele Mental Health Programme of India.” Photograph courtesy Sruti Disability Rights Centre

Insight Dec '24

Crisis in crisis intervention centres for women?

By Shampa Sengupta

How equipped are the government-run one stop crisis centres for women to carry out crisis intervention? Shampa Sengupta shares insight from a recent survey of the centres in four states...