A fighter for justice

Assam’s first transgender judge, Swati Bidhan Baruah, talks about tokenism against the trans community and issues within the judicial system Swati Bidhan Baruah, 26, made headlines recently for being appointed as India’s third and Assam’s first transgender judge. Hailing from the state’s strong LGBTQ community, she will be one among 20-member judges to mediate pre-litigation […]

ON AN EXPERIENTIAL BINGE

A young European man residing in Delhi expects us to be non-judgemental about the choices he makes. His quest unto self involves making others happy He best one-word description for John (name changed on request) is drifter. An English-speaking European in his late twenties, John works for a private organisation, and has been living in […]

London calling

Indian billionaires love London, so much so that it has become their second home. These billionaires include not just the fugitives who feel safe in the city, but also those who own mansions and high-end stores there India is a poor country of rich people. This is not a mere cliché. Last week, India became […]

The lure of folk lore

Two JNU scholars have documented traditional folk theatre of Bihar and paid tribute to the legendary Bhikhari Thakur His name might spell like a beggar, But king he was, not a rag, And on many a giant fortress He had raised the Bhojpuri flag. The opening lines of Naach Bhikhari Naach, the documentary on Bhikhari […]

Scent of a woman

DRAG QUEEN IKSHAKU, WHOSE STAGE NAME IS KHUSHBOO, IS A GAY MAN WHO FEELS APPLYING MAKEUP AND WEARING HIGH HEELS IS LIKE STEPPING INTO A WORLD OF DREAMS “I WAS scared. It’s a bit jarring and makes you feel odd also because you’re so used to being a guy,” explains Ikshaku, trying on a dress […]

Dial jail for murder

The killing of Munna Bajrangi inside Baghpat jail by another incarcerated gangster may have been a political settlement of sorts Ever since the Yogi Adityanath government started hunting down gangsters in various parts of Uttar Pradesh (UP), many of the absconding gangsters made a beeline to surrender, fearing they would meet the same fate. For […]

Spiritual dancer

A political scientist by training, Gilles Chuyen settled in Delhi 24 years ago in pursuit of his passion – dance. It soon became the ‘medium’ of his spiritual quest French national Gilles Chuyen has lived for 24 years, exactly half his life, in Delhi. He wears many hats, is a dancer, choreographer, actor, director, writer […]

Hearing the unheard

Spunky and unstoppable, Deshna Jain, India’s contestant at the Deaf International pageant in Taiwan will make her presence felt without being able to speak a word “I want to make my country proud and show the world that it has enormous amount of talented people,” exclaims Deshna Jain, a 20-year-old girl when asked for a […]