Pune to get Diwali Ank showcasing Marathi writers from LGBT community on October 15

The idea for the theme for the magazine came to Bindumadhav Khire, a LGBT rights activist and founder of Samapathik Trust, during a LGBT literature festival in 2018

Samapathik Trust, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), will release a Marathi LGBT Diwali Ank (magazine) on October 15, to keep Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) themed literature alive in the city. The annual magazine will also provide Marathi writers of the community a platform to showcase their talent.

Pride march organised by students of IISER Pune on October 13 began from IISER amphitheatre and ended at Parihar chowk, Aundh. A total of 150 students took part in the march. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

The idea for the theme for the magazine came to Bindumadhav Khire, a LGBT rights activist and founder of Samapathik Trust, during a LGBT literature festival in 2018.

“One day after the festival, I was discussing with a bunch of friends how to keep the flow of LGBT themed literature alive. We thought of an annual magazine in the form of a Diwali Ank in Marathi. There is not a single magazine dedicated to the community in Marathi despite there being so many stories in this language. Hence to give Marathi writers of the community a platform, we thought of a Diwali Ank,” said Khire.

There is a magazine in English run by the Humsafar trust called ‘Bombay Dost’, but nothing in Marathi, added Khire.

The magazine will have articles, stories and poems on the LGBT theme. The magazine will consist of 115 pages and will be sold for Rs 100.

Khire highlighted two articles of importance in the magazine - Article 377 judgement, Article 377 case flowchart (details of how the case progressed from the beginning) and excerpts from the Supreme Court judgement.

“We are also giving a glossary of terms used by the community in Marathi, besides articles by Indian psychiatrist society position statement on sexual orientation, gender identity as well as World Psychiatric Association’s position statement on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Khire.

Law student and writer Anil Ukarande is gay and excited about writing for the very first LGBT Diwali Ank in Marathi. “When we were informed of such a Diwali Ank, I was very thrilled and suggested writing the 377 judgement in simplified Marathi so that it could reach out to the rural public as well as the common man in Maharashtra. This Diwali Ank is an important piece in history for no one has dedicated a whole issue to LGBT as an annual reading which is only brought out during Diwali festival. The platform provides for writers like me to express our emotions. There are Diwali Anks in the market who hardly do justice to our cause and many-a-times would drop any article on LGBT,” Ukarande said.

Sunil Mehta of Mehta Publications said, “To my knowledge, there have not been any Diwali Anks published on the LGBT subject, so it can be the first of its kind. There have been one-two articles in various Diwali Anks on LGBT, but Samapathik is probably the first to be completely embrace it as the theme.”