Doc knows best

Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju

Curated by Aastha Atray Banan, Jane Borges, Heena Khandelwal and Nidhi Lodaya

An account to follow on social media to learn more about the trans experience is that of Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, a doctor and activist, who recently made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2022. One of India's first openly transgender doctors, Trinetra uses her Instagram account, which now boasts over 283k followers, to advocate for queer rights in social, medical, and legal spheres. The content varies from the deeply personal to the thoroughly informative, as Trinetra recounts her personal journey and the discrimination she faced as a trans woman, as well as her experience of undergoing gender-affirming surgery. Trinetra's posts are frank, funny, and unflinching in their accounts of the difficulties, and joys of being a transgender doctor in India. What makes the content so engaging is not only the unique perspective her medical background offers her, but also a very irreverent, Gen Z humour.
@trintrin, Instagram

Boy meets boy

Yogi and Kabeer

Shuddh Desi Gay is the first Hindi podcast that follows an openly gay couple - Yogi and Kabeer. Hailing from ordinary middle-class families, the couple has been together for around seven years now. They talk about their experiences as homosexuals, both individually and as a couple. Through the podcast, they try to decode what it means to be gay and a gay couple in India in their own desi way, without any jargon and minus confusion. Each episode, which lasts anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour, sees them discuss various topics under the LGBTQ-umbrella - gay rights and laws, gays in straight marriages, open relationships, gay parenting, handling desi parents, homophobia, and mental health. The tone of the podcast is conversational, and it perhaps caters to everyone, including straight people, those still in the closet, as well as the ones who are out and proud.
spotify.com

A song for everyone

Teenasai Balamu

Sometimes only a musician can out your feelings into words, and chords. Bengaluru-bred queer artiste Teenasai Balamu, who goes by the moniker GrapeGuitarBox, and identifies as non-binary and gay with they/them pronouns, could be one such. Their songs like Wait for you, Run and Free, are marked by distinct raspy vocal stylings, and they sing about love, feelings and that innate need to have one that belongs to only us. Balamu is a gifted songwriter as well, and teaches us one important lesson with their lyrics - at the base level, we are all the same, we feel the same, and love is love. Listen now.
Available on all streaming platforms

Pep talk by Lilly

Lilly Singh

You are not always the adjectives that you use to describe yourself." This line is among the many that stayed with this writer from Lilly Singh's audiobook, Be a Triangle. The Indo-Canadian comedian, actress and television host covers various aspects of her life in the book, including the time that she came out as bisexual to her parents. But overall, it focuses on self-love and personal growth. Singh talks at length about the relationship one shares with self and the universe, and looks at living a fulfilling life, something that she highlights is not taught anywhere, be it school or at home. Like most motivational or self-help books, this one manages to hold your interest. What works best for this writer is that Singh has lent her own voice for the audio book. It almost feels like she's giving us some pep talk - something that we all need to beat the blues.
Audible.in

Show off that rainbow

If you are a saree-hoarder, like this writer, it's most likely that you own a Suta, or at least want to. Though on the expensive side, you can spot a Suta saree from a distance, courtesy their pastel shades, bold prints and handloom work. Their latest collection, Pride Without Prejudice, inspired by the Pride Month, offers a charming and bold range of tees, sarees and blouses. Our personal favourite is their Love is Love (Rs 3,600), which has cute polka dots on an off-white saree, with a pallu that could easily be the poster cover for the pride movement. Their long-sleeved puff blouse, Pardon My French (Rs 3,200) is dramatic and chic, and could be paired even with a pair of jeans.
suta.in