We hope you enjoy our favorite moments from this year’s Bangalore LGBTQ Pride Parade. Click on an image to enter the gallery.
The community and allies gathering around a Pride flag at the parade departure point.
Dykes on Bykes revving up to lead the parade!
Yasss ladies!
Some parade participants chose to wear masks to hide their identity from media exposure and to avoid unwanted outting.
Beautiful bold souls, authentic and dazzling with pride.
The community that came out for Bangalore Pride was full of love and support for one another. Claiming visibility as a group lifted hearts and fostered a sense of power and hope that was immense and tactile.
The strong activist presence in the parade encompassed issues beyond LGBTQ rights and visibility. The recent demonetization in India has financially crippled a majority of lower to middle class citizens, while masking and ultimately fueling more corruption in the upper echelons of society. This sign suggests that patriarchy should no longer be the legal tender of India, calling for a new way to empower all citizens in their socio-political arenas.
Exactly.
Queers in the parade passionately presenced themselves and empowered the community with grace and grit.
Thousands of curious onlookers came out of their shops, homes and restaurants to witness the parade. As far as we know, no acts or words of hatred or violence occurred during the 3 hour march.
We love this snap of a young queer jumping in on Dykes on Bykes to shower riders with bubbles. The march created a space for queers to freely enjoy and express their authentic selves in public.
Famous trans-rights activist and Bangalore-local, Akkai Padmashali, welcomed hugs and was an illuminating and inspiring presence in the march.
In the wake of recent murders of trans and Hijra folks, many Pride participants wore black. A candle-light vigil was held after the parade in front of City Hall to honor the memory of victims and to recognize National Trans Awareness Day, which was the day of the parade.
For 3 hours, this man helped to carry a prop casket representing the murders of trans and Hijra women in India.
A group of young women at their first Pride parade! One of them enthusiastically told Miss S, “I didn’t know there were so many beautiful lesbians in Bangalore!”
Pride attire was on point in style and significance.
Miss S passing out Dykes on Bykes Pride flags as she registered women for the ride.
Love and Pride.
Performances of traditional Indian dance styles symbolized a union between Indian and Queer identities, a union that many queers in India struggle navigating. This young boy illuminated the stage with his grace and perfection of the classical North Indian folk style, Odissi.
Boys will be boys.
The parade crowd was 2000 strong! 2016 was the largest Pride Bangalore has ever held.
These three dancers charmed the audience with a seductive performance and amazing costumes.
The march ended at City Hall where marchers gave speeches and led demonstrations. It was amazing to see the entire crowd amassed.
Akkai Padmasali, trans- rights activist, speaks at City Hall. Akkai was the first trans-woman in India to have her legal papers changed to document her gender as female.
It was wonderful to see families joining in Pride celebrations. This father also came out to represent deaf and differently challenged queers/individuals. Pride in Bangalore made space for all kinds of marginalized folks to establish presence.
