Archive for the ‘pride march’ Category

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Mumbai witnesses Asia’s first gay flash mob


2012
01.24

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Posted in Current Affairs, events, gay, lgbt, pride march | 10 Comments »

Gay flash mob of mumbai at marine drive

As part of the pride week celebrations currently going on in Mumbai preceding the actual gay pride march in the city on 28th Jan, Mumbai today witnessed India’s first gay flash mob, which also happens to be Asia’s first gay flash mob. It was a pleasant surprise for many present at Marine Drive when a little after 6pm, more than 50 people started dancing to a medley of carefully selected Bollywood songs ‘Character Dheela’, ‘Sadda Haq’ and ‘Maa Da Ladla’.

Preparations for the first gay flash mob of Asia had been going around for a month with the participants practicing for it every weekend. Dev Kakkad, who is credited with choreographing Mumbai’s now famous flash mob at Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, also choreographed India’s first gay flash mob. However, publicity in the media about the flash mob beforehand meant that public at Marine Drive already had an inkling about it, thus taking away the surprise element of a flash mob. “It was an amazing experience to be a part of it,” an ecstatic Souvik Ghosh, who happened to be the only non-Mumbai person to be part of the mob, said. “It was a huge success except for the fact that the ambience of a flash mob was a little disappointing because people had already got a hint of it. But we could still pull it like a flash mob,” he added.

Gay flash mobs have emerged as a major source of protest in the west, where many political leaders who aired their homophobia were often confronted with flash mobs by LGBTs. Although flash mobs started in 2003 and have since been organized in various cities across the world, the phenomenon has only recently caught up with India when Mumbai yet again led other Indian cities and a successful flash mob was organized in the busy CST railway station. Given the comments by the Health Minister of India against homosexuality and the recent harassment of people attending the QAM (Queer Azadi March) pride fund-raiser party in Mumbai, the flash mob with its choice of songs made the perfect statement. With its grand success, all eyes would now be on the Queer Azadi March on 28th Jan.

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Chennai Rainbow Pride 2011


2011
06.06

Posted in chennai, events, gay, lgbt, pride march, rainbow | 3 Comments »

If June brings the sweltering heat, it also brings reasons to cheer and celebrate. It could be the joy of savouring Mangoes for some, the happiness of all play and no studies for students, or, the ability to stand up for one’s own self and show to the society that we exist, and there is nothing wrong with us. Yes, June brings with it the Pride Parades across the world and in various cities of India too.

Well into its third year, the Chennai Pride will be held on 26th June to mark the anniversary of Stonewall Riots. The pride parade will be preceded by a month of activities to celebrate the diversity and highlight the various issues faced by LGBT community. “In Chennai we treat June as the Pride Month and we have a series of weekend activities and one of the last activity is the pride parade, which is the 26th June,” said Ramki L Ramakrishnan, one of the organizers of the Chennai Pride.

The activities kicked off from May itself, beginning with a small workshop on how to interact with the media during the parade so as to send a unified message, followed by a press conference and a poster making session on May 28th. Screening of a documentary of gay and lesbian Indians and their parents by Sonali Gulatie I AM was organized by the Chennai branch of Sangama on June 4.

A panel discussion with doctors, lawyers, psychologist etc and an interactive session with the audience has been planned for June 11th .The documentary Bold and the Beautiful by transgenders of Kalki Sahodari Foundation will also be screened the same day. There will be another poster making session the next day. The following weekend will then see a cultural performance by members of the community from Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu. A pre – pride party will be hosted on June 24th, while 25th June will have a parents meet – up, where parents of LGBTs can share their worries, and express their support and love for their child; which will be followed by an art exhibition and a play titled Molagaapodi by Kattiakari Theater Group. The month long activities would then culminate with the final pride march on June 26th.

With the decriminalization of homosexuality last year, the participation in this year’s pride march is expected to swell. Talking on this matter, Ramki said, “Typically, when you compare to Bangalore or Kolkata pride, we don’t have the kind of numbers that you have in these cities. But there are a lot of other people who won’t necessarily go to the march but come to the cultural event or come to the panel discussion,” hinting at the increasing sense of confidence among the members of the community.

You can view the event details by clicking here.

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