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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
How much glitter does your make up have?
A palpable excitement has overtaken me. Later today, I will be attending my first ever drag performance in Chennai. The participants and organisers (Sunshine House) that has curated the event, have promised a line-up that reeks of splendour. My first tryst with drag queens was during a trip to London at Peckham, a mostly Black neighbourhood. In their stunning make-up, up-dos, and shiny clothes, they found ways to playfully tease every table. The night ended with hugs and selfies with the performers. I went back home to read about what I had witnessed. It turns out that anyone can perform in wonderful clothes that often challenge the heteronormative idea of gender. Who is a woman? What is feminine? And who has the right to ask anyone else to dress a certain way? Purple, one of the curators of Affections, an art event held every month at Backyard, a cafe, says that the drag show was part of Pride month's line-up, so that people in this city I call home, can be open and free, despite the several constraints of their day. 'We make an effort to ensure that our space is chill, and members of the queer community can share a laugh,' they say. During their monthly meetings (they have held 11 to date), a make-up station is set up for an all-out glitter party. 'Those who cannot wear make-up at home because of what their parents or society have to say, can come here and dress up. It is a safe space, and I tend to volunteer to dress them up,' they say. At the end of the event, participants and visitors are often doused in a healthy amount of colour and shine. Devam Shivam, non-binary drag artist and a Chennai resident, has performed at small events in the city and elsewhere in India. This time, he gets access to a full stage. There are also three prizes to claim, a rarity in Chennai, especially since the queer community in the city is being actively doxxed online. Last year's Pride march seemed like a fortress with hundreds of police personnel in khaki, matching half the strength of the participants. Shivam, in his excitement, has been picking outfits all week. Pritha Bhattacharya, who is going to be in drag for the first time, has already been in conversation with Shivam regarding their look for the event. 'It was the drag queens who were an instrumental part of the Stonewall rebellion,' they say. The Stonewall rebellion, on June 28, 1969, in New York, was the beginning of a six-day period of clashes between LGBTQIA+ people and the police. It was the beginning of activism for these communities. As for me, see you on the other side of drag, covered in glitter. Happy Pride month, you guys! Wordsworth Gender neutrality Recently, the Jawaharlal Nehru University decided to replace the term 'Kulpati' for the more inclusive 'Kulguru' to refer to its Vice-Chancellor on academic documents. Pati in Hindi means husband, while guru means teacher. With people across the gender spectrum occupying positions of power, it only means that conventional usage of terms like 'sportsman' and 'chairman' are now taking on its more gender-neutral usage: 'sportsperson' and 'chairperson'. Toolkit The Gender and Policy Lab team along with the Greater Chennai Corporation released a Chennai-specific manual with gender inclusive guidelines for urban infrastructure design to enable women's access to public spaces on July 6. The document recognises that public spaces are experienced differently by women, girls, transgender and non-binary people, due to reasons as diverse as safety, mobility patterns, caregiving responsibilities, and social norms. In this 280-page manual, created after several surveys, discussions, and spatial audits, are design solutions for problems of our everyday life at parks, beaches, bus stops, markets, toilets and shelters for the urban homeless. While the physical copy is out, the PDF will be up on the GCC website. Kaliyug aa gaya hai. I don't know what is happening to these young Indian women nowadays. Instead of being good wives, they often create hell for their husbands. Excerpt from a longer post on X by former Supreme Court of India judge, Markandey Katju Women we meet Harris Karishma, 17, is the only woman palm tree climber in Villupuram district. In a video, which now has over 20 lakh views, Karishma puts on the harness that generations of palm tree climbers and toddy tappers have used, around her waist and feet. Within minutes, she is halfway up the trunk. Karishma can climb a tree, harvest ice apples (the fruit of the palm), tap toddy and padaneer, and aid in the process of making palm jaggery. Her assent of the tree is a form of protest, against the Tamil Nadu government that has chosen to prevent the legalisation of toddy in the State, despite the palmyra being the State tree. 'After seeing me climb the tree, other youth, particularly boys, have begun climbing. Someone needs to make videos about the palm tree,' she says.
New Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Art beyond the aisles
The scribbles and strokes on the last page of your notebook. The balance a family living on the streets achieves in assembling and organising their belongings. The paper boats you leave to float in rainwater. The office corner where golden-hour light catches the plant — and you, sitting beside it. The synchrony of motorists braking in unison at a signal. The storytelling session over a cup of chai at a tea stall. Aren't these art? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, art is 'making objects, images, music, etc., that are beautiful or that express feelings.' Does this mean that art should be confined only to the canvas — whispers from behind the glass of galleries? In reality, art can speak on street corners, train platforms, and tea shops. In his recent Cannes speech, Robert De Niro remarked, 'Art is inclusive. It brings people together.' This thought resonates deeply with an upcoming inclusive exhibition — Art & I — to be held this weekend. Art & I is a collaborative art show, created by Sunshine House, an art house, and Backyard, Adyar. The art-based organisations are bringing all kinds of art under one roof through a one-day event. From miniatures to large canvas paintings and ceramic pottery, all art forms will be on display and available for sale. Akshaya ChittyBabu Nithya, founder of Backyard, explains, 'We prefer calling it an art show because there are certain processes and interactive elements present at each stall where the artist demonstrates their style and also engages with the viewer or audience. Those who come in will also make art in one way or another — solving an artistic puzzle or painting on a blank canvas puzzle.'
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Province announces $6.4M for 67 units — some already in use — as part of homeless plan
Manitobans have begun settling into 67 new social housing units announced Friday as part of the provincial government's homelessness strategy. The Manitoba government is spending $6.4 million on the units, which were established in collaboration with Main Street Project, Siloam Mission and Sunshine House, as part of the Your Way Home plan, Premier Wab Kinew's strategy to end chronic homelessness within two terms. The units — some of which are ready now, others will be move-in ready over the next few months — are an effort to provide as much housing as possible as the weather warms and encampments become more prevalent around the city, said Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said the units are an effort to provide as much housing as possible as the weather warms. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said the units are an effort to provide as much housing as possible as the weather warms. 'We know that encampments pop up every year around this time. This is nothing new,' Smith said Friday morning. 'There's always lots of new encampments that pop up. This is why we're ramping up housing, we're trying to get as much housing online as possible, to get as many people into housing as possible. We know that there's a great need.' The units are spread across three buildings, whose locations are not being made public to keep people safe, a provincial spokesperson said. People using substances will be able to use while living in the units and will be offered on-site supports, including case managers and support workers. The funding includes supportive housing through Sunshine House for homeless LGBTTQ+ people. Those 14 units have already been filled with 16 people previously living in encampments, said Levi Foy, Sunshine House's executive director. 'Our housing team works with (residents) to allow them to envision and define what stability can look like for them,' Foy said. 'This can include getting residents connected with culture, connected with mental health services as well as addiction and treatment services.' MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Levi Foy, Sunshine House's executive director, said 14 units have already been filled with 16 people previously living in encampments. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Levi Foy, Sunshine House's executive director, said 14 units have already been filled with 16 people previously living in encampments. There have been 33 people moved from 17 encampments across the city into housing since the launch of the Your Way Home plan, with 28 being in the units announced Friday. None have returned to encampments, Smith said. Al Wiebe, a longtime homelessness advocate, said he was skeptical about the province's timeline to end chronic homelessness within eight years. 'It's not going to happen in anybody's lifetime, never mind anybody's term … because for every person that you house off the street, 1.5 come back on,' he said. Wiebe, who himself was previously homeless, said the plan did have merit in connecting Manitoba's support systems and helping them work in sync. He said one of his first jobs after finding housing was as a case manager, and it at times took seven or eight attempts to get a person into housing before they stayed. 'Everybody's pulling together in same direction, and that's a good thing. I worry about capacity to support them all. That's my biggest concern, because people do not stay in housing without supports. It's very hard,' he said. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Al Wiebe, a longtime homelessness advocate, said the plan has merit, but was skeptical about the province's timeline to end chronic homelessness within eight years but MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Al Wiebe, a longtime homelessness advocate, said the plan has merit, but was skeptical about the province's timeline to end chronic homelessness within eight years but Many of the tents that once lined Waterfront Drive along the river are gone, with the dirt under them worked up and garbage removed. A few tents, and people, remain. One told the Free Press he was there when people were being offered housing and the city was cleaning the grounds, but he had been let down before and was skeptical of the offer. 'I don't even bother anymore,' the man, who asked his name not be published, said. He had been living further down Waterfront Drive in another encampment that he said hasn't been cleared, but moved when he realized new space had opened up. He has been living on the streets in Winnipeg for about three years and works odd jobs to get by. 'It's my choice to live out here, and it's my choice to work,' he said. A woman at the encampment said she had previously lived by the river and moved elsewhere during the winter. She returned to find the area cleared out. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Elizabeth ended up in Winnipeg when she was discharged after a hospital stay with nowhere to go about a year ago. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Elizabeth ended up in Winnipeg when she was discharged after a hospital stay with nowhere to go about a year ago. Elizabeth, 26, said she'd gladly accept housing if it was offered to her, and would prefer it over shelter or street living. 'I'd feel safer in a home instead of in a building,' she said. Originally from Garden Hill First Nation, she ended up in Winnipeg when she was discharged after a hospital stay with nowhere to go about a year ago. She's working on getting sober and seeing her children again. 'Maybe I'll apply for a house,' she said. The provincial government estimates there are around 700 Manitobans living in encampments. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS An apartment is almost ready for a client once the paint has dried. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS An apartment is almost ready for a client once the paint has dried. Malak AbasReporter Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg's North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak. Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Province announces $6.4M for new housing units
The provincial government is spending $6.4 million for 67 more social-housing units as part of a plan to get homeless people out of encampments. The Your Way Home plan to move people into housing with needed supports was announced in January. The 67 units are being established in collaboration with Main Street Project, Siloam Mission and Sunshine House. 'We are very excited to be partnering with Siloam Mission and the province for this new housing project,' Jamil Mahmood, executive director of Main Street Project, said in a news release Friday. 'It is good to work alongside other organizations that have been doing this work for a long time and who understand the challenges in housing previously chronically homeless individuals and know how to support them in successfully maintaining housing.' The news release said 17 encampments have been cleared in less than three months. It's not clear whether that includes an area where new makeshift shelters recently appeared in an area along Waterfront Drive that was cleared not long before.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Kensington clean up: Progress made in struggling community one year after Mayor Parker's initiative
The Brief Philadelphia leaders gathered Monday to give a progress report of Mayor Parker's Kensington cleanup initiative. Law enforcement statistics show improvements, including pulling $10 million in narcotics off the street. City and law enforcement officials and a drug user spoke out amid the changes. PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia's law enforcement leaders say they're seeing progress on Mayor Parker's plan to clean up the struggling community of Kensington. On a sun-splashed morning along Kensington Avenue near Somerset Street, people in the grips of addiction fill the sidewalks, some openly using drugs. What we know Long the epicenter of Philadelphia's illegal drug trade with homelessness and violence tied to it, Mayor Parker has made cleaning up Kensington a priority. One year in, and Parker's Chief Public Safety Director and police leadership gathered Monday to claim they're seeing progress. Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told a gathering early Monday afternoon, "it's small progress for those in the community who know we have to do more. We don't present to you that we won." They say homicides are down 45 percent, shooting victims have dropped 57 percent, and police have pulled $10 million in narcotics off the street. They argue targeting dealers, offering drug treatment, and taking back Kensington's streets, like the clearing of a sprawling homeless encampment at Kensington and Allegheny, are working. What they're saying 22-year-old Samantha Maty injects the street drug, tranq. "All that happens down here is that you get robbed, people take your stuff it just gets worse every single day," said Maty. Roz Pichardo offers a safe space and food at Sunshine House. Pichardo said, "the street looks good. The efforts of reducing overdoses are harder. I responded to four today. Our crew was ripping and running all morning. We need a little bit more help a little more support with that." Pichardo says the clearing of the encampment has crowded backstreets. "We are aware of that. We understand the community's concerns about that-we're working on it," said Adam Geer, Parker's Chief Public Safety Director. "A lot of people don't really want help. Know what I mean? It's hard," said Maty. What's next On Tuesday and Wednesday, the city's Special Committee on Kensington will hold two hearings to examine the Kensington Community Revival Plan and Diversion Programs in the City of Philadelphia. The Source The information in this story is from Philadelphia law enforcement, city officials and a drug user in Kensington.
