I am a PhD student working under the supervision of Prof. Ishita Pande. My proposed doctoral research intends to look at how Indian queer and transgender communities have attempted to identify what 鈥榪ueerness鈥, 鈥榯ransness鈥 or its equivalents stand for, in the context of global and local entanglements between rights movements, non-governmental organizations, and the law 鈥 over the past four decades of the 鈥渜ueer movement鈥 in India. My other interest area is in the history of urban spaces and communities, as well as histories of aesthetics, development and class-caste relations in urban India 鈥 which led to my MA research into queer experiences of Indian urban spaces, in the context of Kolkata, and the popular idea that queer spaces in Indian cities are being lost. Much of my research interests are fuelled by my longstanding partnerships with The Rainbow Room Kolkata, with whom I volunteer, and the Varta Trust, for whose archival division I have been a consultant and researcher, and a regular contributor to their e-zine.
When not studying, you can find me reading, listening to music, or ambling around town looking for nothing in particular.
