A session on LGBTQ: My First Writing Experience and Readings was chaired Manabi Bandyopadhyay and the participants were Dhananjay Chauhan, Meera Parida, Mrittika aka Abhijit Chatterjee and Vijayarajamallika, the readings were done by Alagu Jagan, Rituparna, Ritwik Chakraborty. The participants as shared have been suffered greatly at the hands of the society and families, but they never let it bring them down as acknowledged. There took charge of their owns situations and evolved with time to reach where they are right now. The discussions and readings expressed the journey of these individuals, the journey for all of them was very difficult and that caused them a lot of sorrow, sadness, grief, anger and negativity, these emotional scars have been represented in their work. (CLICK TO READ Challenges Confronting LGBTQAI+ Writers and Reading)
As a collective, their is not only educational but also very proudly presented, emotionally charged and passionately presented, as it provides us with a new perspective of the non-binary community and their experiences with the world. The work of the writers was playful, powerful, critical as well as honest. The poetry was such that it represented the emotions exquisitely, the brutal experiences the writers faced physically and mentally was projected in an impactful manner by the pen, they all agreed on the fact that pen has proven to be mightier than the sword for them as it has helped them revolutionalised their societies and families.
The session was intended to give the artists a platform where they could express their first literary writing and what it means to them because now their writings have created a significant impact on the society and it would be a very insightful session where people at large can gain knowledge about what literature means to diverse communities of the country without any biases.
Readings by LGBTQIA+ Writers was chaired by Kalki Subramaniam and the readings were done by Chandani, Manisha Mahant, Partha Sarathi Majumder, Raveena Bariha, Sadhana Mishra, Santa Khurai, Toshi Pandey, Vishal Pinjani. They shared the reasoning behind their writing as they expressed their struggles and experiences with the contemporary world and the world they grew up in through the writings and additionally what writing has helped them with. The poetry and writings were quite honest and descriptive such that visualising the life of the writers could be done easily but to process the journey they have been through has been extremely difficult. The session provides a platform to many writers who hoped that the society could hear them out and understand the inhumane experiences they have been burdened with. The artist explained that so many compromises have made them what they are today, but looking back at the sacrifices made, they often wonder how could one be treated so scarily just for not being part of the binary genders.
The writers felt forever grateful to literature and the pen as a medium of outlet that helped them explain their journey and create awareness amongst people. The pen became a medium through which they knew that they will never be forgotten and thus paved the way for the community to put out their struggles and embed them into the minds of this society. They believed that the only thing that needed to come out of the closet wasn’t them but the horrible mindset of the society, the harsh mindset that cause many humans to take their lives. This session concluded with an engaging exchange of experiences though which the audience could normalise the LGBTQIA+ community and not stigmatise gender choices.
