open
access

DOI 10.60531/INSIGHTOUT.2024.2.9| GUHA: QUEERING CALCUTTA_ INSIGHTOUT 2(2024) 63 and egalitarian in its ideological orientation. Gou­ranga refers to the golden incarnation of God(Krish­na), who is viewed as the incarnation of the Supreme God according to the Vaishnava theological vision. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared in Bengal some 500 years ago, pioneered and popularised what is known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a religious order which is still very popular in Bengal and other eastern states of India. Vaishnavism is premised on the devotional worship of the religious and symbolic figuration of Krishna and Radha, the latter being the female devotee of the former who is viewed as God incarnate. In Gaudiya Vaishnava devotionalism, both Radha, the female figuration, and Krishna, the male God figure, are viewed as the embodiment of the same merged duality. 6 Contemporary case studies Having seen multiple cases of mythical and religious sanction of queerness, how do we explain contem­porary hostility to the queer? Seen differently, recent cases of growing pro-queer movements also testify to the fact that in India there was precolonial or tra­ditional approval of queerness and that allows for the possibility of the further queering of Kolkata. Re­cently in Kolkata, there have been incidents of pro­queer notifications from different authorities. There are reports of initiatives where schools are being encouraged to be LGBTQ+ inclusive. Intense ethno­graphic studies of Kolkata schools and colleges and the perception of students regarding their experien­ces of institutional norms and practices concerning queerness would be needed to establish the growing space as well as continuing limitations of queer in­frastructure in Kolkata. As city streets in Kolkata have come to life with Pride marches, Kolkata schools believe it is time education became more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students. These are the emerging empirical bases, offering on-site case studies of emerging queer infrastructure. While Kolkata schools are organising workshops and inter­action sessions to normalise queer identity, students, queer teachers and activists stress that gaps persist which need to be overcome. According to news re­ports, the Heritage School of Kolkata holds regular life skills classes to enhance exposure and awaren­ess along with counselling for students struggling with questions related to gender and sexuality, as stated by the principal Seema Sapru. Schools like DPS Howrah have future plans to organise seminars and workshops to combat negative stereotypes and make the students much more sensitised. Birla High School Class XII student Bhaskar Agarwal said,“so­cial media and streaming sites play a huge role in sensitizing and creating awareness. On a personal level, I find a lot of support groups available on social media.” Bappaditya Mukherjee, a gender rights ac­tivist, said,“sometimes we find that the teaching and student community are both very willing and suppor­tive in these issues, but school management prevents meaningful dialogues.” 7 Kolkata Queer Literary Festi­val: Reports and case studies The city of Kolkata also celebrated its first Queer Li­terary Festival on 5 January 2019. 8 In a similar vein, Sahitya Akademi, the national academy of letters of India, organised its transgender poets’ meet on 17 July 2018 which was chaired by Manabi Bandyo­padhyay, who celebrates her queer identity openly. This poets’ meet was also the country’s first transgen­6 M. Vora,“Krsna Kali: The Inseparable Divinity”, https://themehulvora.com/2018/08/14/krishna-kali-the-inseparable-divinity/(ac­cessed 17 Jul. 2024). 7 A. Banerjee,“Kolkata: Push for schools to be more LGBTQ+ inclusive”, The Times of India, 19 Jun. 2022, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/92309534.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_cam­paign=cppst(accessed 17 Jul. 2024). 8 S. Akhtar,“Kolkata hosts its first Queer Literary Festival”, Newsroom India , 6 Jan. 2019, https://enewsroom.in/lgbt-queer-literary­meet-transgender/(accessed 17 Jul. 2024) .