Qatha: An adventurer speaks

People, Jun '14
By Paramita Banerjee

Varta brings you the ‘Queer Kolkata Oral History Project’, an initiative to document five decades of queer lives in Kolkata (1960-2000). Our aim in this project is to go back in time and bring forward diverse queer voices through a series of interviews, which will provide a landmark to Kolkata city's queer history. Typically, the focus will be on the queer scenario in Kolkata during the growing up years of each interviewee – how it was to be queer in Kolkata in different decades since the 1960s till more recent times. The effort will be to bring forward a mix of the well known and the lesser known voices. Apart from the excerpts published here, the project also aims to publish a collection of the interviews in different formats. All interviews are based on informed consent and where requested, all markers of identity have been removed for reasons of confidentiality.

In this issue we bring you an interview with a bisexual woman, who is in her early 40s, lives in Kolkata and works in the disability sector. She is not comfortable disclosing her name as she fears it might have an adverse impact on her work in the disability sector, which is not necessarily open to sexual diversities yet.

The interview was conducted by Paramita Banerjee in September 2013 and revised with the interviewee in May 2014. It was transcribed by Paramita Banerjee.

Human rainbow

Clickhappy! Jun '14
Anubhav Gupta has an eye for the colours of the human rainbow

 

Anubhav Gupta is a media professional, a freelance writer, social activist and photographer based out of Delhi. He is the founder of Jeevan trust, an NGO that promotes social causes through media. He has worked extensively with underprivileged children, people with disabilities, people living with HIV, transgender people and other socially marginalized communities. 

Skin (s)care!

Advice - Mind, Body and Family, Jun '14

By Dr. Tirthankar Guha Thakurta

Every season comes with its unique set of gifts and tantrums. Summer in India is not very comfortable. With a rise in the maximum temperature every year, Indians are left scorching in the hands of global warming. Given its sub-continental stretch, India has wide differences in weather patterns. In some parts, the summer is hot and humid, while in some other parts it is dry. The amount of rainfall also varies from state to state. This causes local variations in the pattern of summer-related health problems. In most parts, however, people face problems with their skin and hair. This month we turn our attention to some common summer-related skin health problems, associated myths and their medical remedies.

Intimate partner violence

Advice - Rights and Laws, Jun '14
By Kaushik Gupta

Intimate dreams and relationships can be disrupted by partner violence. A look at the legal remedies available

Reader queries

I am researching intimate partner violence in the context of men in sexual and romantic relationships with other men. If a man is beaten up by a same-sex intimate partner, under what section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) can the culprit be punished?

Sameer, Kolkata

Too hot to write

Vartanama, Clickhappy! May '14
By Pawan Dhall

May is too hot to write an editorial, but not too hot . . .

LGBT beats

Insight, May '14
By Pawan Dhall

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) or queer communities in India have long had a love-hate relationship with the media. The anguish at not being written about accurately and sensitively, the sense of being let down at the queer diversity not being represented adequately, is often coupled with the appreciation that the media has indeed helped in mobilizing queer communities and advocating their concerns with the public at large and the powers that be.

Qatha: Love in Calcutta via Africa and UK (part 2)

People, May '14
By Pawan Dhall and Sukanya Roy Ghose

Varta brings you the ‘Queer Kolkata Oral History Project’, an initiative to document five decades of queer lives in Kolkata (1960-2000). Our aim in this project is to go back in time and bring forward diverse queer voices through a series of interviews, which will provide a landmark to Kolkata city's queer history. Typically, the focus will be on the queer scenario in Kolkata during the growing up years of each interviewee – how it was to be queer in Kolkata in different decades since the 1960s till more recent times. The effort will be to bring forward a mix of the well known and the lesser known voices. Apart from the excerpts published here, the project also aims to publish a collection of the interviews in different formats. All interviews are based on informed consent and where requested, all markers of identity have been removed for reasons of confidentiality.

In this issue we bring you the second and final part of an interview with Pia and Kiki, both in their late 40s, who live together in Kolkata. Pia is a community volunteer and writer, while Kiki is associated with the education sector. In the first part of the interview (published in the April 2014 issue of Varta), they talked about the journeys which brought them together. In this part, they speak about the challenges of living out a same-sex relationship and their hopes of a better future for queer people.

 

The interview was conducted by Pawan Dhall on May 10, 2013, and transcribed by freelancer Sukanya Roy Ghose.