Somewhere over the Rainbow

This week, the city is all set to be painted VIBGYOR – the colours of the rainbow! The Delhi Queer Pride Parade, which is now in its eight year, will take place on November 29.

There will also be a 10-day Delhi QueerFest celebration. This year will also see the debut of the Delhi International Queer Film and Theatre festival. “It is a celebration and part protest against the discrimination towards the community,” says Mohnish Malhotra, an activist and member of the committee. They also highlight that the protection extended to transgenders is weakly implemented. Apart from upholding the rights of the queer community, this year’s march also takes up the issue of intolerance.

The fest, which takes place from November 27 to December 7 at the Max Mueller Bhavan, starts with a visual art exhibition. Sandip Kuriakose, a member, says, “The Delhi QueerFest Visual Art Exhibition is a community-arts event that hopes to engage with a broader audience on matters important to the community.” He adds, “For those of us involved with QueerFest for many years, our belief was in the power of culture and queerness. In times of violent moralising, censorship and cultural nationalism, do we reclaim it? Use it to question, undo, re-imagine? Or has its moment passed? Has it become a word that gets thrown about to mean everything and nothing? Where do we go from here to think about what sexuality is, what it should be, what it could be?”

The third-leg to the celebration is the theatre and film festival, organised by Harmless Hugs. It will be held at the Lok Kala Manch on December 12 and 13.

is a celebration as well as a part protest against the discrimination towards the community Mohnish Malhotra, activist

PHOTO: HIMANSU VYAS/HT