Love out loud: Pride march in Bengaluru turns into carnival with rainbow flags, solidarity

The city’s LGBTQI community held two large gatherings even as police denied permission to hold the annual pride march, citing a high court order.

Slogans such as “My body, my right” and “Namma Deha, Namma Hakku" reverberated in the gatherings on Sunday.

The ‘Ride With Pride’ event was held at Freedom Park, followed by Pride Evening (Hemmeya Sanjeya) at Samsa Bayalu Ranga Mandira near Town Hall to mark the Karnataka Queer Habba.

On a bright and sunny Sunday, rainbow flags fluttered in the breeze against the clear blue sky, setting the tone for the pride festival.

Participants were encouraged to exchange conversations and express themselves amidst electrifying rhythms of dhols and drums. Many took pictures and held a small procession inside the venue.

At the end of the gathering, three buses ferried participants to the Samsa Bayalu Ranga Mandira.

The evening carnival commenced with a monologue by a boy on the struggles of growing up as a queer child and navigating the same in a conservative and traditional household.

Though the performance was in Kannada, everyone could connect to it for how it was put forth. The performance received a standing ovation from the audience.

It was followed by other performances including kathak, fusion dance, drag performance, display of attire, etc.

“There is a lot of joy. As cheesy as it sounds, there is a lot of pride in the air,” said Anjali Mukerjee, a communications student and a participant. “It was more like everyone expected revolt from this event, but this is turning out to be a revolution."

Aayushee Anand, writer and participant, said: "Generally, when people dress up the way they want to, there’s a lot of judgment that goes around, people laugh. But today, everyone here is expressive, everybody is appreciating everyone else. Nobody is divided in terms of gender or religion, it is a safe environment."

The events were organised by the Coalition for Sex Workers, Sexual & Sexuality Minorities’ Rights (CSMR).