In Mumbai, Then Be Here…

June 15, 2009

(1) Comment

It happens very rarely that you get to feast on such a fantastic line of work. So if you are in Mumbai on 23rd June this IS the place where you just have to be.

Why?

Because…..

Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action (LABIA) & Goethe-Institute / Max Mueller Bhavan are celebrating the long-awaited release of SCRIPTS, issue no. 12 (the queer zine published by LABIA) in an entertaining and highly informative fashion.

The list goes something like this:

The release of the Human Rights Watch report An Alien Legacy in Hindi, titled Ek Parayi Virasat by its author, lawyer and activist Alok Gupta. This report is about how laws in over three dozen countries, from India to Uganda and from Nigeria to Papua New Guinea, derive from a single law on homosexual conduct that British colonial rulers imposed on India in 1860.

A brief talk by Bishakha Datta, well-known feminist activist and filmmaker on the topic of censorship in current times.

*Censorship also happens to be the theme of Script’s latest edition, which includes; range of queer writings on the theme accompanied by select readings on censorship that is done by the state, others and LABIA team members.

Followed by the screening of Saba Dewan’s fascinating documentary, The Other Song (Hindi, Urdu & English with English subtitles). This is the final take in Saba’s trilogy focusing on stigmatized women performers; the film brings us face to face with the enigmatic figure of the tawaif, courtesan, baiji and the contested terrain of her art practice and lifestyle.

So no two thoughts just get your lame arse down there.

June 23, 2009. K. Dubash Marg, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400 001. 06:30 PM onwards.

For further details call: +91 (22) 22 02 77 10

XXWhy, A Transgender Story.

January 20, 2009

(3) Comments

XXWhy is a documentary film on Sree Nandu, a Female to Male (F2M) transgender. The film is produced by Centre for Media & Cultural Studies (CMCS), Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

“Like a typical man, like a typical woman, I am a typical transgender”, declares Sree Nandu, a 25 year old transgender from Kerala. XXWhy directed by B. Manjula (Chair, CMCS) scans the translucent layers of Sree Nandu’s opaque personality through the virtual space Sree Nandu has painstakingly carved out to reach out the social space, hoping for a niche in the eluding comfort zone.

Suffering and redemption, destruction and self destruction, love and hatred, pain and joy all go entwined and entangled in Sree Nandu, while the under current is accumulating trauma and the determination to survive.

Continue reading