Sweta Daga

Siddhita Sonavane

Editor

large_01-DSC_0499-SD.jpg

medium_01-DSC_0499-SD.jpg

small_01-DSC_0499-SD.jpg

thumbnail_01-DSC_0499-SD.jpg

01-DSC_0499-SD.jpg

At 3 p.m. on February 18, 2024, under the heat
of the midday sun, approximately 400 colourfully dressed participants marched from Sabar to Mysuru Town Hall, to celebrate
the city’s second Pride march. 



“I am proud to be here [at the march]. Mysuru
has changed,” says Shaikzara who was brought up in the city.” I have been
cross-dressing for the last 5-6 years but people have been judging me, saying,
‘why is a boy wearing a girl’s dress?’ But now people are more accepting. I am
proud of who I am,” says the 24-year-old who now works at a call centre in
Bengaluru. Like Shaikzara, many had come from other parts of Karnataka, Goa,
and Tamil Nadu to show their support.



The golden statue of goddess Yellamma (also
known as Renuka) was the star of the celebration. The statue, weighing roughly
10 kilograms, was carried by participants on their heads with drummers and dancers
surrounding them.

The march was organised with support from
Namma Pride and Seven Rainbows, organisations working with the trans community.
“This year was our second march and we got police permission in one day
[whereas] last year it took us two weeks,” says Pranathi amma, as she is respectfully known in the community. She is the
founder of Seven Rainbows and has worked for over 37 years across India on
issues of gender and sexuality. 



“We are learning to communicate better with
the police. There are still many people in Mysuru who don’t approve of us and
who want us to disappear, but we hope to make it [the Pride march] bigger and
more diverse every year,” she says. 



The kilometre-long march was through one of
the busiest market areas in the city. The local police actively helped to clear
traffic, allowing the celebration to happen smoothly. “We respect this
community. We walk with them to make sure nothing bad happens. We support these
[transgender] people,” said Vijayendra Singh,
Assistant Sub Inspector. 



“Transgender women occupy a complex space in India.
While they are given some cultural protection because of myths around magical
powers, they are also discriminated against and harassed,” says Deepak
Dhananjaya, a mental health professional who identifies as a queer man. “The
local community is working on educating people. Breaking a mindset cannot
happen overnight but when I see these marches, especially in small cities,
without violence, I feel hopeful,” he adds.



Priyank Asha Sukanand, 31, who attended the
Pride march, says, “I faced discrimination and abuse when I was in university
and decided to push toward affirming my rights and asserting them. Every Pride
that I march is a reminder of all the struggles that I and others in my
situation have, and so I march for them.” A special educator and chef from
Bengaluru, he adds “we saw the true strength of Mysuru&#39;s LGBT community and it
was very reassuring.”

Colouring Mysuru with pride

మైసూరును ఇంద్రధనుస్సు రంగుల్లో ముంచెత్తిన ప్రైడ్ పాదయాత్ర

பெருமையுடன் மைசூருவுக்கு வண்ணம் பூசுதல்

ਜਿਓਂ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੇ ਰੰਗਾਂ ਦੀ ਮੁੱਠੀ ਅਸਮਾਨ ਵੱਲ ਉਛਾਲ਼ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਹੋਵੇ...

ସ୍ୱାଭିମାନ ରଙ୍ଗରେ ରଙ୍ଗୀନ ମହୀଶୂର

‘प्राइड’ने सजलेलं आणि रंगलेलं मैसुरु

സ്വാഭിമാനത്തിന്റെ നിറം ചാലിച്ച മൈസൂരു

सतरंगी रंगों से सजा मैसूर

ક્વિયર સમુદાયના રંગમાં રંગાયું મૈસૂરુ

रिंगी-चिंगी प्राइड मार्च मं रंगे मैसूरु

मैसूरु में लहराइल सतरंगी झंडा

গৌরব আর মর্যাদার রঙে সোচ্চার মাইসুরু প্রাইড

মহীশূৰৰ গৌৰৱ যাত্ৰা

ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ಆಗಸಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರೈಡ್‌ ಕಾಮನಬಿಲ್ಲಿನ ಬಣ್ಣ

Sabar

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

IN TELUGU - Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Colouring Mysuru with pride

A diverse group of people across gender spectrum and their allies from neighboring cities and states came together to celebrate Mysuru's second Pride march

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit