'People don’t know much about drag'

Ikshaku Bezbaroa is a Bengaluru-based lawyer who also moonlights as Kushboo, a drag queen. His tryst with drag began as a way of personal creative expression. “I put on a wig and created a video of myself lip syncing a song. I was watching RuPaul’s Drag Race at the time. I had friends who were starting to explore like me and we would practice at each other’s houses,” he shares.

In 2017, he enrolled in an online competition on Tumblr called ‘TDR - Charm School’, where participants were made to compete against each another on challenges ranging across the themes of makeup, dress creation and performance. “This helped me start my journey as Kushboo. I chose the name because my pet name is Kush, and a few bullies used to make fun of me in school by calling me ‘Kushboo’. This was my way of reclaiming the name. Also the name means ‘positive aura’, which is how I like to see myself,” he says.

Being a drag queen gives him joy as it lets him live out his fantasies. “I grew up reading a lot of Harry Potter and other fantasy novels. This is a very real opportunity for me to create magic and I love that,” he says.

He moved to the city from Delhi in 2018 and that helped him find a community of queer people. “By 2019, I was doing my own shows apart from performing at community events and other venues. I do two kinds of shows — one, is called ‘Kushboo’s T Party’ and the other is called ‘Kushboo’s Boudoir’,” he says.

While the first is more of a community event, where Kushboo attempts to provide a platform for other queer artistes, the latter is a way for her to give people an insight into her private life. Recently she performed at the Sly Granny in Indiranagar where she spoke about her journey, the transformations and even her breakup last year.

“All my shows are about self-love, getting over trauma, the role of community and positive reinforcement as healing,” she explains.

People don’t know much about drag, even though they have become more receptive, he says. “One thing people find difficult to understand is where drag stands in respect to gender identity. But, that is a query that arises because you still think in boxes. The point for me is to be irreverent to gender when in drag,” he explains.

Many people also wonder why his drag performances are so western. “My cultural influences are global, and I think of myself as very resourceful or ‘jugaad’ — this is reflected while I am in drag,” he adds.

While decriminalisation of homosexuality is to be celebrated, there is a long way ahead. “The systemic and institutional violence against the queer community is unjust. Queer experiences continue to exist underground, which makes it even more susceptible to violence,” he shares. It is not only legal justice, but social inclusion that needs to be won.

“Being proud and living our realities regardless, that’s how we keep pushing back against the system,” he says.