Queering Desi

06/08/2020

New episode alert! On this episode, Priya talks to Chef Navin Hariprasad and his husband, Andrew Pettke. The two, along with their friend Sarah Hartshorne, recently won The Great Food Truck Race, Season 12 as team Mystikka Masala Food Truck!

Navin and Andrew open up about their relationship and their unique wedding (including a drag queen minister!) Navin also shares what drag means to him as well as how he fell in love with cooking. The two also talk about their journey as restauranteurs, and what it was like to bring their Indian/Tex-Mex flare to The Great Food Truck Race!

You can listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, JioSaavn, Google Play or anywhere you listen to podcasts!

On this episode, Priya talks to Chef Navin Hariprasad and his husband, Andrew Pettke. The two, along with their friend Sarah Hartshorne, formed team Mystikka Masala and won The Great Food Truck Race, Season 12!

24/04/2020

LGBTQI+ Muslim healing justice organization Q***r Crescent Healing and radically inclusive Muslim community center Masjid al-Rabia have come together and built the Radical Muslim Mutual Aid project as an effort to provide some relief to Muslims during this time.

Donate or apply for support here!

Radical Muslim Mutual Aid -- COVID-19 Response Fund. From Masjid al-Rabia and Q***r Crescent. Providing funds and direct resources to marginalized Muslims in a time of crisis.

23/04/2020

🚨 New episode alert!! 🚨

On this episode, Priya talks to a panel of three q***r South Asian artists about their work and how the arts have been affected by the pandemic: Bhumi Patel, an artist, activist and dancer; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a visual artist, performer and curator; and Ashok Sinha, a board member of the India Center Foundation, which started the South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund to assist US-based South Asian arts workers.

Bhumi and Zulfikar talk about their art, including how their experiences have informed their work and how this crisis has affected them. Ashok adds perspective on ICF, and why this fund was created. Later, all three weigh in on how we can support q***r artists, and the arts, during and after these difficult times.

Listen to the episode now on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Saavn, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts! And find out more about the fund here as well!

On this episode, Priya talks to a panel of three q***r South Asian artists about their work and how the arts have been affected by the pandemic.

10/04/2020

Want to know how to make some good old homemade khichdi? Join us tomorrow on our Instagram as Feroza's corona kitchen comes to Q***ring Desi!
www.instagram.com/q***ringdesi

05/04/2020

"The team was formed by Sadam Hanjabam, a PhD scholar who established Ya All, a youth network working towards LGBTQIA+ inclusion in Manipur and the North East."

Manipur's all-trans men football team is a counter to the male-female dichotomy in sport that doesn't provide enough space for q***r participation.

04/04/2020

Join us over on Instagram today as Amir and Aamir of the You Don't Love Me podcast take over to do some cooking and Q&A!
www.instagram.com/q***ringdesi

03/04/2020

"Let us strengthen our ties with trans and non-binary community members who have proactively worked to create a safe world for everyone, be it through zany artworks, heart-wrenching life experiences, valuable tips, or the power of humor." ❤️

Let us strengthen our ties with trans and non-binary community members who have proactively worked to create a safe world for everyone, be it through zany artworks, heart-wrenching life experiences, valuable tips, or the power of humor.

31/03/2020

Today is , a much-needed day of empowerment, celebrating the lives and achievements of our transgender and gender-expansive loved ones.

Thank you for sharing, Celia Sandhya Daniels!

“This is man in a dress who clearly needs medical help”. These were the comment in the local newspaper when I came out in 2013 at an open…

27/03/2020

On a brand-new episode of Q***ring Desi, Priya chats with Nakul Dev Mahajan, an award-winning Bollywood choreographer best known for his 12 years of choreography on "So You Think You Can Dance."

Nakul opens up about his journey, including his earliest memories of dance and what it was like coming out after establishing himself as a leading dance teacher in the community. Later, the two do a deep dive about Karan Johar and the LGBTQ idols they wish they had, and Nakul talks about his work on the new Disney Junior show, "Mira: Royal Detective."

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts!

On this episode, Priya chats with Nakul Dev Mahajan, an award-winning Bollywood choreographer best known for his 12 years of choreography on "So You Think You Can Dance."

25/03/2020

Join us for virtual support and community! Here's our upcoming slate for the next few days.

Tonight, we're focusing on affirmations and breath work with YaliniDream, to aid those who may be struggling with isolation, mental health or just need a break.

For more information, and a list of more South Asian LGBTQIA+ events worldwide, please see our virtual events page:
https://www.q***ringdesi.com/virtual-events

23/03/2020

Q***ring Desi has another virtual event on the calendar (with many more to come!)

Hope you can kick back tonight and join us as we watch the classic Bollywood film, Hum Aapke Hain Koun together with friends and allies!

Register here: https://bit.ly/BollywoodWatchParty

20/03/2020

Q***ring Desi is trying to uplift the work of organizations around the world that are supporting our communities during these trying times.

We have started a South Asian LGBTQ+ resource page here that includes resources for the pandemic as well as a directory of community organizations around the world.

We'll be adding to these pages (and adding more resources) in the coming days/weeks, but please feel free to share, or let us know if you'd like to see something added!

A compilation of resources for South Asian LGBTQ+ folks!

19/03/2020

From sharing crowdsourced fundraising opportunities to donating to local and national nonprofits, caring for the most vulnerable members of our communities can take many forms.

From sharing crowdsourced fundraising opportunities, to donating to local and national nonprofits, caring for the most vulnerable members of our communities can take many forms.

17/03/2020

Salman Toor said that his paintings sprang from a desire to represent what “what this new free space is like,” referring to openly q***r life, a stark contrast with the underground gay culture in Pakistan.

Salman Toor’s show in New York and Christina Quarles’s in Chicago reveal the enduring — but continually evolving — style of the centuries-old art form known as figuration.

16/03/2020

"Since I heard your story, I’ve felt a powerful energy. Knowing that someone else in my family was out there, in a relationship with a woman, has meant the world to me."
— Sharan Dhaliwal

Knowing someone else in my Indian family was out there, in a relationship with a woman, has meant the world to me.

15/03/2020

Last month, sloganeering by a group of q***r people led to sedition charges against 51 of them, while the organisers stood by and watched. Now, young, vulnerable LGBTQ folks are worried about speaking up too.

14/03/2020

“None of us can be mouthpieces for an entire community,” writer, artist, and filmmaker Fatimah Asghar says. “What we can do is build in community and build in relationships, and let that be something that informs us.”

Asghar says it is time we consider new ways to approach art. How do you approach it, she wonders, in a way “that can honor people and their identities, rather than feeling like they have to smush them down to navigate a world that’s not made for them?”

13/03/2020

"Gender is an obstruction that often informs how people choose to treat you."
Gender-fluid artist Durga Gawde Studio reflects on what it takes to inhabit the female body as a person with gender dysphoria.

Gender-fluid artist Durga Gawde (them/they/their) speaks with equal good measures of touching vulnerability and courage about what it takes to inhabit the female body as a person with gender dysphoria

12/03/2020

Dawn shares glimpses of the Aurat Marches last weekend in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.

March 8 is the one day in 365 where women take to the streets. They're definitely being heard.

09/03/2020

NYC! SAQTC is hosting an Open Mic centering on Sunday, March 22 in solidarity as political tension and violence rises in our ancestral home.

⁣A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Equality Labs.

An Open Mic centering solidarity as political tension and violence rises in our ancestral home.

07/03/2020

Surprise! We've got a new BONUS episode out now: We talk to Amrit Kapai, one of the cast members of Bravo's brand-new reality show, "Family Karma." The show follows the lives of seven young Indian-Americans as they navigate the pressures of adulthood, while maintaining deep-rooted ties to their culture.

Amrit talks to Priya about what it was like to come out in such a close-knit community and why he felt that being a part of this show was important. Later, he plays a special "Family Karma" rapid-fire round and shares advice he would give his younger self!

Listen to the episode now on our website, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or whetever you listen to podcasts! And be sure to catch Amrit on the debut of "Family Karma" on tomorrow at 9 p.m. Eastern, only on Bravo!

On this special bonus episode, we talk to Amrit Kapai, one of the cast members of Bravo's brand-new reality show, "Family Karma." The show follows the lives of seven young Indian-Americans as they navigate the pressures of adulthood, while maintaining deep-rooted ties to their culture.

06/03/2020

Our Season 3 love affair with the U.K. continues as we welcome the fabulous Amir & Aamir, a gay South Asian married couple, and the hosts of the "You Don't Love Me" podcast!

On Episode 5, the two chat about their experiences as q***r people of color, including how they met and why they started the podcast. Later, they play a few games, including a very fiery rapid-fire (thanks, “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” and Karan Johar!)

On this episode of Q***ring Desi, we welcome Amir & Aamir, hosts of the “You Don't Love Me” podcast and a proud gay South Asian married couple from the North of the U.K.

06/03/2020

Our first newsletter is out! Catch up on our newest episodes, see photos from South Asian LGBTQ+ outings to see "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" and check out community announcements from around the world!

And be sure to hit subscribe so you don't miss our next update!

https://mailchi.mp/bf3d7c811c8a/q***ring-desi-community-newsletter-march-2020

05/03/2020

DesiQ***r Diaspora 2020 (formerly DesiQ) -- the only conference for Q***r South Asians -- is BACK! To raise scholarship money for people to attend the event May 15th - 17th in Austin, Texas, we and a co-host committee are throwing “Kitty Party: DesiQ***r Diaspora 2020 Fundraising Edition” this Saturday in NYC!

Join us for an evening of drinks, dancing and drag queens as Dynamite, DJ RuBot and DJ Rekha take over the DJ booth and Chutney Chataranga, KaMani_Sutra and Vishaal Reddy storm the stage!

28/02/2020

Writer and filmmaker Faraz Arif Ansari has woven various themes of womanhood, sexuality, Islam, nationality and identity into one narrative in his upcoming short film, .

Writer and filmmaker Faraz Arif Ansari has woven various themes of womanhood, sexuality, Islam, nationality and identity into one narrative to make the audience think over them sensitively in his short film, Sheer Qorma. He tells Chahak Mittal how he’s trying to fight the mindset that a q***r

27/02/2020

On Season 3, Episode 4 of Q***ring Desi, Priya chats with Rav Bansal, a former contestant on "The Great British Bake Off" and the host of the “Do You Wear That In The Shower?” podcast.

On this episode, Rav opens up about coming to terms with his sexuality as a Sikh man and the experience of coming out publicly last year. Later, Rav shares what was like to be on Bake Off and how baking is still part of his life.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

On this episode of Q***ring Desi, we welcome Rav Bansal, a former contestant on "The Great British Bake Off" and the host of the “Do You Wear That In

20/02/2020

Aisha Mughal is the Transgender Rights Experts and Focal Person at the Ministry of Human Rights, and has been passionately working to ensure equal and safe public space for this community.

Aisha Mughal has become the first female transgender to officially represent Pakistan at a United Nations Forum. She is part of the National

19/02/2020

"By being out as a couple, Wendell Rodricks and Jerome Marrel gave us an image of the possibility of a domestic life together that happened to be gay.," writes Sandip Roy in this beautiful tribute to the legendary fashion designer and LGBTQ+ activist.

The matter-of-factness with which Wendell Rodricks chose to be himself was groundbreaking, something hard to comprehend now in a time when gay pool parties happen at five-star hotels and Pride Parades march down the streets of cities like Ahmedabad and Guwahati.

18/02/2020

"I saw that people like us, the brown people who run kitchens and the food industry, weren’t represented and I didn’t feel comfortable expressing myself in that space. But that’s changed since 2016," Sana Javeri Kadri, founder of Diaspora Co., said.

Sana Javeri Kadri brings her whole q***r life to Diaspora Co., her company that’s decolonizing the spice trade, supporting Indian small farmers, and delivering banging spices to your kitchen.