Pride Month: Read these books to understand the queer experience better

Love loss belonging and the complicated web of human relationships form the foreground of these queer books recommended by Anish Gawande curator of Pink List India mdash an archive of Indian politicians supporting LGBTQIA rightsTitles such as James Baldwinrsquos heartbreaking novella lsquoGiovannis Roomrsquo or A Revathirsquos inspiring autobiography lsquoThe Truth About Mersquo have provided him joy and solace says Gawande and have held within their pages spaces for reflection and celebration ldquoMany have been written by those I have admired from afar others have been written by incredible activists and academics who I am grateful to call my mentors and friends And yet others have snippets of my own contributions to queer literature hidden between their coversrdquoAnish GawandeAs we celebrate Pride month all through June mdash indoors rather than in public gatherings this year mdash pick up these works for a nuanced appreciation of queer experiencesGiovannis Room by James BaldwinThis novella by Baldwin about an American man in Paris and his affair with an Italian bartender skillfully explores masculinity class identity love and loss Gawande read this book at a time when he was coming out and it gave him a narrative of love longing and loss that he could relate to ldquoI could not stop crying for hours after finishing Baldwins masterpiecerdquoThe Angel of History by Rabih AlameddineAlameddine tells the story of Jacob a gay Yemenborn poet living in San Francisco as he waits to check into a mental health facility The plot revolves around the single night he spends in the waiting room According to Gawande The Angel of History grapples with important questions such as lsquowhat it means to be queer and an immigrantrsquo and lsquowhat it means to lose loved ones to the AIDS crisisrsquo ldquoAs someone who has lived in three countries over the past three years I saw Alameddines book as a meditation on love longing and belongingrdquoThe World That Belongs to Us edited by Aditi Angiras and Akhil KatyalldquoThis anthology is above all else a tribute to all the queer individuals who have loved and lost before us mdash and the paths that they have charted for our stories to be heardrdquo says Gawande It brings together the best of contemporary queer poetry from South Asia both from the subcontinent and its many diasporas Some of the voices featured in this book include Hoshang Merchant Ruth Vanita Kazim Ali Rajiv Mohabir and a host of new poets These poems touch upon themes like desire loneliness struggles activism the role of family among other topics Gawande says ldquoIts also deeply personal given that the book contains my translation of a poem by Aligarh Muslim University professor Ramchandra SirasrdquoIshtyle Accenting Gay Indian Nightlife by Kareem KhubchandaniThe author focuses on queer South Asian men across borders Covering gay neighbourhoods nightclubs bars and house parties from Bangalore to Chicago Khubchandanirsquos book sets out in its own words to demonstrate that the unlikely site of nightlife can be a productive venue for the study of global politics and its institutional hierarchiesrdquo Kareemrsquos work has been a revelation for Gawande ldquoRight from its quirky title Ishtyle manages to inflect academic writing with humour and wit to put forth a book that is witty and riveting I love the movements from global to local from Bollywood music to queer theory that present new ways of narrating contemporary forms of contemporary aestheticsrdquoLoving Women Being Lesbian in Unprivileged India by Maya SharmaThe book consists of ten reallife stories from queer women in India particularly from the working class who remain underrepresented in mainstream media ldquoMayarsquos book on lesbian narratives across India is one of the most groundbreaking works I have readrdquo says Gawande He adds ldquoNot only is she a phenomenal activist who I have been inspired by and learnt from but a gifted writer who puts across stories that are effortless to read but profound in their examination of the queer landscape around usrdquoThe Truth About Me by A RevathiRevathi is another activist Gawande is inspired by ldquoHer book is empowering not only because of her own impressive trajectory but also because it is one of the first autobiographies by a South Asian trans personrdquo he says In this compelling autobiography the author shares the deep discomfort of being in the wrong body which had affected her from childhood The book describes her emotional and physical journey of fighting the system to establish her own identity ldquoShe rejects traditional narratives of sympathy and pity to tell her story the way she wants to giving so many of us the courage to tell our own storiesrdquo adds GawandeQueeristan by Parmesh ShahaniGawande recommends lsquoQueeristanrsquo to every individual working in the corporate world and beyond ldquoWith important insights into the history of the queer movement in India the book rejects the tokenisation of the LGBTQ community in favour of advocating for concrete steps that actually benefit queer Indiansrdquo he says Shahani who is the head of Godrej India Culture Lab draws from his journey in the corporate world as an out and proud gay man to talk about inclusion of the community and give a stepbystep guide to reshaping office culture in India He speaks to inclusion champions and business leaders about how they worked towards changeAlso Read World Environment Day Four Mumbai thrifters gave up fast fashion for mindful buying