The cultural Pride

On the occasion of Pride Month, one of the most happening places in Hyderabad, Nirvana, welcomed people from the LGBTQ community and its allies for what turned out to be a wonderful experience for everyone who was witness to the beautiful event.

Nirvana which organised the city's first drag event publicly this month culminated the celebrations of Pride Month with the help of gender activist and carnatic dancer, Patruni Chidananda Sastry, who enthralled the audience with his performance.

In a first of its kind, the city was witness to an event called KanaDRAGoulam, a fusion of carnatic music and drag, with silk Kanjeevaram sarees and a big bindi paired up with a multicolored hairdo that only Sastry could rock it the way he does. Sastry was Mohinamma for the day, a wise lady who carried with her a lot of experiences and openness and of course a bit of sassiness.

The event also had wonderful performances by other artistes and allies, with Aditi Myakal, a well-known Telugu actress, performing as Satyabhama, Sravya singing carnatic music, Aniketh crooning to Bollywood melody, Sourab performing a fusion of carnatic and Bollywood and Pranathi singing Maha Ganapathim, which completed the nostalgic feeling of hearing all those soothing carnatic music growing up. Sravan Telu, Hyderabad-based male belly dancer fighting gender stereotypes himself, also performed at the event, leaving the audience in amazement.

The event ended with Patruni Chidananda Sastry and Bhagi Shravani of Nirvana expressing their gratitude to the city for its unwavering support to the cause of LGBTQIA+ community.