What are your thoughts on queer-
friendly spaces and your attempt to
navigate them through the zine?
There are spaces that some queer bodies
feel safe in due to familiarity or personal
connections. There are, however, no
established queer safe spaces within
Ahmedabad, as of now. The covers of
both editions of the zine are a reflection
of how Shamini and I have accessed public
spaces over time, whether individually or
together. Our mere existence in those
spaces was already ‘queer-ing’ them.
Queer bodies do a multitude of things
to public spaces and places that don’t
expect and understand them. Our covers
are a window to these experiences.
I can speak for Ahmedabad because
I have lived here pretty much all my life.
It has been, and still is, a very interesting
experience of negotiating that kind of
constant public gaze. Our bodies do not
fit into any of the stories or lives that
these people are living around us, and
yet, there we are, present and real and
existing. Freedom of mobility without the
risk of violence is important, but we are
not there yet.
How have you found the response to
the zine in tier-two Indian cities?
The response has been fantastic, and
we are working towards diversifying
into different languages and increasing
representation. It’s a work in progress and
always will be as the zine takes on a new
form every time. We have received a really
good response from Gujarat-based queer
folk, artists and art aficionados; they come
back with interesting questions and find
themselves unexpectedly surprised.