As the discussion over balloons and stage decoration subsides, Yaariyan, the LGBT youth wing of Humsafar trust, prepares for its next mega event 'The Gulabi Mela' on Sunday in Bandra.
As the discussion over balloons and stage decoration subsides, Yaariyan, the LGBT youth wing of Humsafar trust, prepares for its next mega event 'The Gulabi Mela' on Sunday in Bandra.
The QAM pride calendar sports lesser events this year. Yaariyan has cancelled their Gulabi Yatra due to logistic requirements but the participation within the group has gone up tremendously, according to their core team member Shruta.
"Last year, we had 1,500 members, and now, we have 2,400. The event has also gone mainstream this year, with more than 33 stalls being put up in the mela not just by the community but heterosexuals too. We had begun with 10 stalls three years ago," she said.
What's been done this year?
This year, Yaariyan organised Q games, the play 'Ek Madhav Baug', the mela and the flash mob on Friday. Last year, they had five to six events. "We realised the number of backstage problems we had and organising everything with finesse was logistically difficult. We are going all out at the mela though, and have received tremendous support from venue partners; we are supporting various NGOs at the event," said Shruta.
Which are the upcoming events?
Dancing queens will showcase their journey through their dance on Republic Day at Ravindra Natya Mandir in Dadar. Made up of around 12 LGBT members, it began as Naachle Tumchyasathi, performed mostly for the community members. "This year, we are presenting our seven-year journey through our dance. Every year, people wait to see our event and only 200 seats are available in the auditorium, which tells us we have gone mainstream," said Urmi Jadav who comes from the Hijra community.
What was new this year?
The LBT support group of Humsafar 'Umang' organised a Queer Premiere League on January 18 in Mahim for the very first time. The cricket tournament saw 34 players and 150 people in attendance. "Earlier, we had our matches only with queer women, but this time we invited everyone. We were tense and scared that no one will show up but were pleasantly surprised when people starting coming in," said Ushma, one of the organisers, who has been an athlete and a wicket-keeper in her school and college days. She was a batsman for her QPL team this year.
Which other programmes received a good response?
The Gay Bombay events of kite-flying at Juhu beach and the GB parents meet also saw a favourable response. They have been in existence even before the pride but now coincide their events with the pride month. "This year, we saw fathers coming for the meet and it was attended by 140-150 people. We had some 80 to 100 people last time around," said Vikram Doctor, one of the organiser of GB.
The rest...
Besides Q test, Q hunt and Q fest by Queer Ink, there will be city's well known Kashish Film Festival on Saturday titled 'Best of Kashish' film screening at SNDT auditorium in Juhu, and a photography exhibition by Team Get Over It titled Pictures Against Prejudice, in Bandra. The Pride Edition of Dirty Talk was held in Bandra on Friday but the event's not listed in the QAM pride calender.
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