At one o바카라clock at Kitty Su, an LGBTQIA+ friendly nightclub on the 28th floor of the luxury Lalit Hotel in Delhi, the night was animated. Commemorating the fourth anniversary of decriminalisation of Section 377 of the IPC, the club was hosting a queer bash and a drag show. The disco lights in the otherwise dimly lit club danced in a frenzy, and so did the partying queer folk on the floor. Everything in the hall바카라hips, arms, feet, bodies, lights, and music바카라danced to a universal rhythm that bounced and oscillated unabashedly like subatomic particles running berserk in every possible direction, creating a miasma of colours and bodies. Drag shows are celebratory congregations, often hosted by nightclubs. Although its main purpose is entertainment, it is also used as self-expression and a celebration of LGBTQIA+ pride. A typical drag show includes, a drag queen with elaborate attire, hair and makeup, lip-syncing or dancing to pop numbers.
Although the flamboyantly dressed queer crowd at Kitty Su looked committed to merrymaking, they were eagerly waiting for the queens, and especially the performance of Lush Monsoon. When she appeared, Monsoon wore glittering makeup, a kimono-like dress, a big shimada-like wig, a pair of fancy eyeglasses, and carried a Japanese mai-ougi hand-fan. As Monsoon entered, her kimono sleeves fluttered, and a slew of camerapersons with their heavy equipment followed her trail, all of them jostling through the crowd. Teya, a drag queen, donning a silver-blonde wig, who had already taken the stage, made an announcement requesting the guests to assemble. The crowd obliged. 바카라It바카라s a commemoration of our freedom, my friends,바카라 she spoke into the microphone with gusto, as the crowd roared in excitement. 바카라Four years ago, the fangs of Section 377 were clawed out! This night is for the celebration folks, let바카라s dance to death!바카라
The lights on the floor flashed as the DJ took over, playing Beyonce바카라s Freedom. Drag queen Betta Naan Stop was on the stage, performing to the number. 바카라Freedom, cut me loose, singing바카라 freedom, freedom바카라 where are you?바카라 Betta lip-synced to Beyonce, swaying her hips slyly like a serpent. The bewitched crowd danced along.
Ayushmaan aka Lush Monsoon is a human rights lawyer by day and drag queen by night. 바카라I can never, experience and express my femininity as freely as I do on stage,바카라 says Monsoon. Their feeling of freedom is 바카라closely attached바카라 to drag.
Although drag as an art form is not restricted to gender and sexuality, and straight artists also cross dress, it hones an element of performance wherein the artists express the layers of the identities they relate to. As such, drag has been integral to the LGBTQIA+ community. 바카라Drag is closely linked to queerness, because it바카라s about expressing something the society doesn바카라t conform to or see as a taboo,바카라 says Monsoon.
Monsoon believes India바카라s modern drag scene is somewhat inspired by the America바카라s ballroom culture of the late 1980s바카라an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQIA+ subculture that originated in New York, wherein drag queens organised their own events to resist the racism experienced in existing and established landscapes.
For Monsoon, drag is a political art form. Along with the peripheral politics of the surroundings or structures, drag makes references to personal politics as well. For instance, many of the drag queens in India take part in LGBTQIA+ activism and have been raising their voices against the laws that have been regressive for the community. Moreover, on the personal front, drag artists바카라 will and choice to crossdress, perform and express their identities freely signifies an action, wherein tenets of personal politics come into play.
In India, being visibly queer바카라as in the case of drag artistes바카라comes at a huge cost. Donning the apparel to express ones femine side, says Monsoon, is looked down upon. Although the drag artists바카라 battle for asserting their identity seems like an arduous task, drag nights in clubs give them hope. 바카라These are spaces of joy and hope, where we weave a community,바카라 says Monsoon about places that host drag nights in the Capital.
Although drag offers a safe space to queers, the places where the shows are hosted are accessible to groups that have social and financial privilege. 바카라In developing countries like India,바카라 a gender studies researcher says, 바카라where the gap between the haves and have-nots is sickening, such practices only cater to groups who are basically elites.바카라
Nevertheless, the elements of drag are not new to India. Indian princely courts during medieval times had drag performers, and the culture also flourished in kothis. For decades, folk art forms like jatra and lavani have always had men performing as women. Traditional performance art forms such as the Lok Rang Noor from rural Punjab, have survived for many generations with extraordinary resilience. Kaniyan Koothu in Tamil Nadu and Launda Naach in Bihar are two examples of such art forms that are still in vogue. Cross-dressing, as much as the definition of drag demands, was a significant component of Indian culture before it fell victim to stigmas and systematic scorn, especially as a result of colonialism, Victorian morality and the regressive regulations that accompanied them.
바카라Drag has always been integral to our history,바카라 says Keshav Suri, the founder of Kitty Su. 바카라However, colonial guilt marginalised the queer community and we shunned our own culture,바카라 he adds. 바카라Drag is deeply rooted into the stratas of the diverse Indian culture,바카라 says internationally renowned drag queen Sushant Divgikar. 바카라Our folk dances have men performing as women. The courts of emperors used to have royal eunuchs,바카라 says Divgikar, who goes by the name RANI Ko-HE-Nur, adds. 바카라The colonial mentality does not want to talk about our rich culture,바카라 he adds.
Other drag artistes have taken inspiration from the West. Nitish Anand aka Shabnam was inspired by American teen sitcom Hannah Montana, in which a teenage girl played by Miley Cyrus, lives a double life바카라pop star Hannah Montana by night, student Miley Stewart by day. 바카라I felt if Hannah can do it, why can바카라t I?바카라 Another performance that inspires Anand is the character of Edna Turnblad played by John Travolta in Hairspray. 바카라The feminine characters played by cisgender males, like Travolta in Hairspray, opened up new vistas for me,바카라 recalls Anand, adding, 바카라I had an epiphany that I can bend identities and appearances and express myself freely.바카라
In Indian cinema and television too, references to drag performances have time and again appeared. Whether it be Govinda바카라s Aunty No. 1, Kamal Hassan바카라s Chachi 420 or Sunil Grover바카라s comic character Guthi, they are replete with references to drag. Says Anand, 바카라We need to understand that such characters were often portrayed to invite ridicule or evoke laughter. We need to destigmatise drag and shun the self-deprecating humour that is employed to titillate the viewers.바카라
바카라Drag is not only an art form or medium of self-expression. It바카라s a tool through which we can educate the community, fight taboos and create a fabric that preaches freedom,바카라 says Anand.
At Kitty Su, the party was getting merrier. Queens put up scintillating performances, setting the stage for Monsoon. The camera crew was trying to figure out a vantage point in the hall full of people who were dancing, drinking, darting and occasionally making out. With her glittering eyelids, long and curled eyelashes and tantalising geisha-look, Monsoon performed a Bollywood number, Pallo Latke. Monsoon바카라s moves seemed to set everything on fire바카라the disco lights, the dancing crowd, lovers kissing in the dark, the smiling bouncers and the housekeeping staff mopping up pieces of shattered glass from the floor. As the night waned, the dancing became more berserk and the kisses more passionate, with the crowd refusing to stop.
(This appeared in the print edition as "The Politics Of Two Attires")
