Poetry penned straight from the heart, soulful songs, and uninhibited dance moves made the Awadh Kare Aashiqui event an apt celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. The show, held at Kaifi Azmi Kala Kendra on Sunday evening, also witnessed a dazzling fashion show, which raised the glamour quotient of the event and received huge cheers from the people present in the auditorium.
“Members, allies, and support groups have come from the different parts of the state to express themselves and be together. We had members coming up from Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, and New Delhi,” said Awadh Queer Pride founder Darvesh Singh Yadavendra.
Prakhar Bhatnagar and Ayush Pandey presented a couple dance on popular songs like Raanjhanaa hua main tera (Raanjhanaa), Naina (Dangal), and Bhare Naina (Ra.One). The couple chronicled the journey of their love through their performance. Their chemistry reflected with in-sync moves and struck a chord with the audience, who gave them a roaring applause. “We performed together to show them our love and struggle and send a message that we, the queer community, deserve love and respect,” said Prakhar.
{{/usCountry}}Prakhar Bhatnagar and Ayush Pandey presented a couple dance on popular songs like Raanjhanaa hua main tera (Raanjhanaa), Naina (Dangal), and Bhare Naina (Ra.One). The couple chronicled the journey of their love through their performance. Their chemistry reflected with in-sync moves and struck a chord with the audience, who gave them a roaring applause. “We performed together to show them our love and struggle and send a message that we, the queer community, deserve love and respect,” said Prakhar.
{{/usCountry}}Subsequently, Nehal D’cruz, a trans man, came up with his thought-provoking poetry Suno, tum ugta sooraj ban jana. Similarly, Shobhit Verma recited an original poem Pehchan on coming to terms with one’s identity. Prakhar Verma and Ritu too read out their poems which were inspirational and a slice of their lives. In addition, Ajeet Das, Aiena, Amit, Yash Srivastava, Sanjeev, and Emma gave dance performances while Ashutosh presented a song.
Members of the queer community and allies sashayed down the ramps wearing the choicest of dresses. Wearing confidence and supported by claps from the audience, they made a fashion statement. US-based Emmy, who is currently pursuing research in Lucknow, performed a Bollywood song and also walked the ramp. Also present in the audience were the parents of some community members.
Dr Piyali Bhattacharya, Dr Utkarsh Bansal and Dr Sanjay Niranjan were also felicitated, with copies of ‘Same-sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History’ by Saleem Kidwai and Ruth Vanita for being part of the team preparing a guideline for transgender kids and youths.
“Transgenders are also normal people. It should not be considered a mental condition. Government’s Transgender Protection Rights Act – 2019 gives them the right to be identified as transgenders,” said Dr Bhattacharya.
Guddan Guru, a part of UP Transgender Welfare Board, in her address, extended her support to the members of the community in case of any family and social support issues. Allies and members of other support groups -- including Salma, Ekta Maheswari, Naresh Yadav, Nandini, Nishi Chauhan, Dr Sandhya and Arif Jafar, informed Sayed Raza Hussain Zaidi, co-founder Aazaadi International -- were also felicitated on the occasion.