This is an initiative to document five decades of queer
lives in Kolkata (1960-2000). Our aim in this project is to go back in time and
bring forward diverse queer voices through a series of interviews, which will
provide a landmark to Kolkata city's queer history. Typically, the focus will
be on the queer scenario in Kolkata during the growing up years of each
interviewee – how it was to be queer in Kolkata in different decades since the
1960s till more recent times. The effort will be to bring forward a mix of the
well known and the lesser known voices. Apart from the excerpts published in
the Varta webzine (in the column Qatha), the project also aims to publish a
collection of the interviews in different formats. All interviews are based on
informed consent and where requested, all markers of identity are removed for
reasons of confidentiality. Articles published till July 2016 can be accessed
at varta2013.blogspot.in.