Forward March

In Association with Levi's.

- Neville Bhandara

When we set out to do this piece, we knew it was not going to be easy. India’s queer community is bursting at the seams with talent, and there has never been a better time to be out of the closet than now—nearly a year after the Supreme Court gloriously struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Since its reading down, the community is shining brighter than ever before. And it’s not just Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru we’re talking about. All across the motherland, pride parades are marching down the streets, open-mic nights are packed with poets professing their feelings for the love that (only a short while ago) dared not speak its name, bars are hosting queer nights on a regular basis, and drag performances are going from invite-only events to the bright lights of the theatre. And your Insta feed? It’s never seen this much rainbow love.

In order to capture the zeitgeist and its accompanying optimism, we teamed up with Levi’s®, a brand that has long been associated with the importance of unleashing authentic self-expression, while speaking truth to power in a quest for absolute freedom—because nothing other than total equality is acceptable. June is International Pride month, so we wanted to celebrate and further drive home the message that we all belong, and that we are all proud, together. Here, you will meet six of queer India’s torchbearers: contemporary pop cultural icons who, through their work, have made it possible for us to arrive where we are now—moving past the spectre of 377 and working towards a truly equal future. We owe them more than they know, and more than we could ever repay.

ISHAAN SETHI

FOR BRIDGING GAPS AND HARNESSING

THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY