'Varta' Webzine

By Sayan Bhattacharya

Sayan Bhattacharya questions the normalization of inequity all around us – something we must not give up on if humanity has to continue breathing

By Chintan Girish Modi

Chintan Girish Modi remembers Gaurav Probir Pramanik whose actions ensured that homophobic behaviour at the leadership level in a leading Indian corporate did not go unpunished

By Chand

West Bengal’s trans* and queer communities are formulating a policy and political participation advocacy plan. Chand takes us through the first step taken recently

By Heena

Heena reports on a recent Dol Jatra event in Kalyani organized by queer support forum Nadia Ranaghat Sampriti Society

By Sudipa Chakraborty, Pawan Dhall, Pradosh Dash

Transgender social worker Sudipa Chakraborty has had a harrowing time applying for Swasthya Sathi, West Bengal government’s ambitious health insurance scheme for one and all

By Pawan Dhall, Shivalal Gautam, Sudipa Chakraborty

Pawan Dhall has some random thoughts on education, gender bias and socio-economic exclusion – with inputs from Shivalal Gautam and Sudipa Chakraborty. Trigger alert: Suicide

By Debjyoti Ghosh, Jia Mata, Pawan Dhall

Excerpts from the report of a recent webinar on transgender rights in South Asia organized by Partners for Law in Development and Varta Trust

By Pawan Dhall

Yester-year stores for purchasing foodstuff and monthly provisions are making a comeback in the author’s retail therapy agenda

By Dr. Kaustav Bakshi

Dr. Kaustav Bakshi reviews social researcher Niloy Basu’s new book ‘Launda Dancer: Anyo Hijrer Bhinna Bhuban’, an important addition to queer literature in Bengali

By Debjyoti Ghosh

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown new light on food (in)security for transgender persons, says Debjyoti Ghosh

By Subhradeep Chatterjee

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

By Pawan Dhall

This headline may seem perplexing. So is the central government’s plan to improve the quality of professional social work in India

By Anureet Watta

By Pawan Dhall

Pawan Dhall looks at Durga Puja nuggets in the Counsel Club Archives and his personal photo albums

By Shivalal Gautam

In this second paired narrative of queer lives during the lockdown in Assam, Shivalal Gautam tells us how two queer women negotiated multiple trials and reached a better place in...

By Sudipa Chakraborty

Sudipa Chakraborty narrates the story of a gigolo in Kolkata – before and during the coronavirus lockdown