Wayward Birds: Desire and Expression in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar

Abstract How do we understand desire as something interwoven in the very landscape of Indian civilisation and culture—and not, as many believe, a Western ideal or “foreign conspiracy” (Menon 9) imported to it in the modern era? Scholars like Madhavi Menon and Rohit Dasgupta have written extensively on India’s long history with desire—the ‘third nature’ […]

Changing Ideas of Desire: Female Gaze in Contemporary Bollywood Rom-Coms

Love in Hindi cinema is often intertwined with toxic masculine ideals of self-entitlement, dangerous obsession, and complete annihilation of the object of desire. Whether it is conflating physical violence with affection in Kabir Singh (2019), repeated stalking of the woman in Main Tera Hero (2014), Toilet: A Prem Katha (2017), and Badrinath ki Dulhania (2017) […]

Subcategorization of Caste, Begumpura and Religion (TAARIF)

This following is a reflexive article written by a cohort of CSGS’s TAARIF (The Transformative Arts and Research Initiatives Fellowship). The first cohort of TAARIF brought together two individuals, for a period of four months (April 1 to July 31, 2023). The fellowship serves as platform for emerging trans* scholars from the subcontinent to bring […]

Decoding Desire and Dining in India: A Hidden History of Food Hierarchy

“Food in India is closely tied to the moral and social status of individuals and groups. Food taboos and prescriptions divide men from women, gods from humans, upper from lower castes, one sect from another” (Appadurai, “How to make a National Cuisine”, 8). Introduction  The more we delve into the intricacies of any aspect of […]

Sexual Desires: Buddha, Butler and Bodies

This is a conversation on the histories of desire in the Indian subcontinent, a conversation that is centuries old. We began thinking about subcontinental desires while reading aloud the poems by the therīs¹.  We were drawn in by theri  Siha’s poem who said that she had “…had no peace of mind” because she was tormented […]

Friendship Sans Symmetry- The Unlawfulness of Feminine Intimacy

When one begins to think of how to think about friendship, it is Aristotle (384–322 BC), the towering and omnipresent Greek philosopher, who comes to our mind. For Aristotle, friendship was one of reciprocity and utility that formed the cornerstone of citizenship. Shared between men, whether based on pleasure, utilitarianism, or virtue, Aristotelian friendship required […]

Desiring Delhi

Can cities feel desire? In November 2013, Google India released an advertisement that went viral within seconds of its release. Titled “Reunion,” the ad follows a simple yet effective storyline of reuniting friends who have been separated by a throw of the historical dice. In the throes of nostalgia, a grandfather named Baldev reminisces to […]

Geographies of Intimacy in Hyderabad

‘Hyderabad: Young couple caught kissing on camera in metro lift’ was the headline of The Times of India newspaper in February 2019. This was followed by a CCTV footage of a young couple, which went viral on social media. The news report also said that the station where this happened was being identified to take […]

Mapping Excesses, Mapping Bodies: Red Dress Waali Ladki, the City and Sexual Violence

Red Dress Waali Ladki demands to be held in generous, capacious headspaces, unafraid perhaps of what kind of associations it may bring about, or what kind of searing trace it may leave. Holding, witnessing and sharing space with Diya Naidu, who conceptualized and performed this piece, is not a disembodied participation – one enters the […]

The Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality (CSGS) is the first Centre of its kind in India to study the broader spectrum of questions relating to both gender and sexuality.

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