It is June 27 and the stage is set for Vannangal, a queer talent festival in Chennai’s Aminjikarai. The event serves as a curtain raiser for the annual Rainbow Pride March on June 28 at Rajarathinam stadium. The preparation is a riot of colours. People are helping each other get into tailored, glittery costumes, practice is on. There is nervous enthusiasm in the air and Jaya, a transwoman and one of the main organisers of this annual pride festival in Chennai (now in its 18th year), says that despite crowds that will soon trickle in and absolutely pack this Corporation community hall in a few hours, there is a bit of a sadness in the air. 

“The Pride March on Sunday will be full of joy but we are unable to forget the injustice that the community has suffered thanks to the Trans Amendment Act [Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act, 2026],” she says. “This feels like punching down on a people who already suffer enough,” she says.  Activism and strong advocacy from groups across the country opposing this act is not enough and many trans individuals are already facing the brunt of this act that was passed without any consultation with the community as a whole. “What of those who are currently undergoing hormone therapy” asks Jaya, considering that the Act strips away the right to self-perceived gender identity. Individuals are now being asked to approach District Magistrates and only then return to hospitals. Medical staff is having a difficult time understanding what is happening on-ground and is apprehensive to continue with hormone blockers, and supplements, hindering the very basic lives of queer, transitioning people. 

On June 15, the Supreme Court stayed further proceedings before four High Courts hearing challenges to the constitutional validity of the act. They have been stayed, at least until July, while the Supreme Court decides whether to consolidate everything before itself or assign it to a single High Court. A contentious feminist figure, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, makes for valid points. She reminds us that institutions which claim to speak for the marginalised such as courts, parliaments, the legal apparatus, do not often represent them. Speaking for someone is not the same as hearing them, and it is often precisely how their voice gets replaced. The aim of this newsletter is not to be didactic. It is to urge the readers to empathise and understand the lives of as many different people around us. In case you are wondering where to begin, here is a handbook of three interesting fiction and non-fiction books mapping queer lives through law, personal memory, family, and workplaces. Happy reading! Happy Pride!

WORDSWORTH

Mx 

Mx is a gender-neutral honorific used by those who do not prefer to be recognised as either ‘male’ and ‘female’. This article in The Hindu speaks about the challenges that same-sex couples in India face while trying to open a bank account, especially since their union in the form of marriage, is still not legal. However, Axis Bank, introduced a ‘Come As You Are’ campaign that allows for queer individuals to use the ‘Mx’ honorific and reject gender binaries.

TOOLKIT 

Satrangi Mela, pub-café Social’s annual queer festival, promises a celebration of the queer community through a range of performances, drag showcases, workshops, marketplace pop-ups, and music programming that spotlights LGBTQIA+ individuals and groups. Since it happens across their locations in cities like Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Mumbai, the event promises both education, and euphoria. Details can be found on their Instagram. Get a tattoo, a tarot reading, or pick up a radical zine. 

OUCH!

“Make more babies than you can afford.. At its core, feminism is a worldview that treats many of the things that make women uniquely women as obstacles to overcome, rather than divine gifts to embrace.”

Erika Kirk, wife of assassinated conservative politician Charlie Kirk, at Curated for H.E.R. (Holistic, Empowered, and Redeemed), an anti-feminist summit

PEOPLE WE MEET

Four weeks ago, Dr. Priya Selvaraj posted a video of what it took to climb the highest peak in the world. During her four-month-long training between scaling two 8,000 feet peaks (Mt. Manaslu and Everest), this 52-year-old doctor from Chennai, a leading fertility expert, says that it took tremendous amounts of resilience to push past days that did not seem easy. What was even more challenging was not knowing if she’d return alive. “During one crossing, I failed to make a jump over a crevasse and fell into it. The only reason I am alive today is because I was tethered to the safety rope. I ended up with big bruises but was thankfully spared of fractures,” she says. Dr. Priya adds that the toughest part of the climb is mental. “The uncertainty of waiting played mind games on me. It is not uncommon to question yourself, suffer self doubt, have breakdowns, and cry,” she says, adding that she climbs to build steady discipline and mental strength. Returning to Chennai, she has transformed, she says. When asked if gender plays a role in climbing mountains, she says, “of course.” Not many 52-year-old women climb the highest peak in the world.