Saturday (May 28) saw like-minded Kolkatans converge at Rang Saga, an annual fundraising event that celebrates body positivity. The event, hosted by Rangeen Khidki at Princeton Club and partnered by My Kolkata, celebrated inclusion and colour, as people across sexualities, gender identities and body types revelled in being their most authentic selves.
One of the highlights of Rang Saga was a candid panel discussion on ‘Bodily Autonomy and Body Positivity’, where fashion designer Indroneel Mukherjee, digital content creators Pushpak Sen and Anwesa Chakraborty, and actor Swastika Mukherjee shared their experiences, moderated by entrepreneur Meghdut RoyChowdhury.
Eight artists showcased 29 original artworks at the event
Pushpak, whose pictures in a sari and bindi on the streets of Italy broke gender norms and conventional beauty standards, spoke about the joys of donning the sari with pride. “Long before Instagram influencers were a thing, I would experiment with my mom’s clothing. When I decided to go abroad to study, I knew I didn’t want to become an Italian, but to represent the beauty of Indian clothing there. I was extremely disheartened to see that despite a sizeable south Asian population, the sari was absent from the streets of Florence. So, I decided to wear it to my first day of college, as I felt it deserved to be seen. A sari isn’t just a pretty fabric, every sari has a story,” he said.
City-based comic Amrita Chanda had the audience in splits with her sharp observations on masculinity, underwhelming pets and discussions around sex
Swastika shed light on how people could have honest conversations around these spaces to bring about a change. “There are a lot of things we don’t talk about with our parents, assuming that they would be uncomfortable. And they think the same thing in our case. More often than not, both parties want to have the conversation. My daughter’s generation gives me hope, because they don’t hold onto things, come up with faster solutions, and genuinely believe in communicating important things. We have to create such comfortable spaces and break these barriers in our lives, before asking other people to talk about issues like mental health and body positivity,” she said.
Saimita Sikdar (in red), a core team member of Rangeen Khidki, had a pop-up stall (right), Comics in Crisis, at the exhibit. ‘Art has been my go-to for the longest time. To see so many people enjoying and relating to my art has been the most rewarding feeling,’ she said
Indroneel spoke about being shamed for his body and sexuality as a child, and his journey of discovering self-love. “All my school life, I faced a lot of snide remarks that gave me a lot of self doubt. I had had enough of it, and one day while looking in the mirror, I asked myself where I was going wrong. But I couldn’t find any flaws. From then on, I started looking at myself in the mirror every morning and telling myself, ‘I’m beautiful!’, which shot up my self confidence and I realised that complimenting yourself is the best way to get more self esteem,” he said.
Tiyasha Ghattak’s art installation, ‘Wish Tree’, attracted crowds for its interactive nature. The Tree encouraged people to hang hand-drawn notes on it, saying what they wish they had heard about their bodies growing up
Anwesa opened up about being a plus-sized model and content creator, and how she rose above hate. “I was not very feminine growing up, so people would call me a tomboy and always try to correct me – from my clothing to the way I sat. At 14, I started gaining weight due to PCOS and realised what body shaming was due to some subtle remarks by relatives. Through school and college, I was denied opportunities to participate in fashion shows for my weight. It would feel bad, but then, I never let it bring me down. The next morning, I would wear something robust and be my usual self. Today, my husband and I often scroll through troll comments on Instagram and laugh,” she chuckled.
Artists Debajyoti Roy and Sharmila Paul were among those who exhibited their artwork at the event
Meghdut spoke on the importance of giving the space to unlearn and grow, and understanding the size of generation gaps. “I think humans have a lot of internalised biases, and even I often realise that I may not have the most updated and empathetic opinions. Hence, it is even more important to give people like our parents and elders the space to understand where they are wrong with regards to body positivity and sexuality, rather than cancelling them at the first go. Events like Rang Saga only have meaning when the conversation extends beyond the event – to our homes,” he said.
Mumbai-based independent singer-songwriter Mali regaled audiences with her original music. ‘While I have health issues myself, as a privileged girl from an Indian city I can go and get help, but what about the women who don't have access like me? I hope this event will benefit women who have it tougher, in a country where healthcare is morally-policed,’ she said
Besides this, the event included a screening of Project Period Adda, a documentary on Rangeen Khidki’s work with 14 adolescent girls from Goalbati village over eight months. Another panel discussion, titled ‘My Body Is Mine Only…’ brought together Mansi Sanghvi Bhayani, Shubha Bangur and Riju Banerjee, moderated by Koumudi Malladi. Raga Saga also saw participation from 12 independent businesses who set up pop-ups, and eight artists, who brought 29 original artworks to showcase.
Supriya Joshi, aka Supaarwoman, brought on the laughs with her hilarious anecdotes – from an unconventional PUBG game and being mistaken for a man to growing younger. ‘The world will make all of us feel terrible about our bodies and identities, but we owe it to ourselves to not listen to the hate and love ourselves, as we are,’ she said.
This was followed by stand-up comedy acts by Kolkata girl Amrita Chanda, and Supriya Joshi, aka Supaarwoman, of Comicstaan fame.
The evening ended with musical performances. While indie singer-songwriter Mali flew down from Mumbai to make audiences groove to her original songs like Absolute, Play and Mango Showers, Somlata and the Aces brought down the curtains with their energising numbers like Amader Kothagulo, Tumi Ashbey Bole and Amar Bhitor O Bahire.
Somlata and the Aces were the closing act of the night