Comedian Supriya Joshi fuels a conversation about why you should love yourself

An AOI gettogether

We step out of the office for some fresh air or head towards the nearest tapri for chai. And wham! Someone walks past, measures us from head to toe and mutters something banal like "chashmish" or "moti". Why?

Body shaming is well ingrained and concealed. It's open, blatant and particularly unkind to hundreds of women out there. And to cope with the vagaries of the world, we first need to begin with the self. That's why this weekend's talk, appropriately titled, How To Love Yourself When You Are Asked Not To, with comedian Supriya Joshi is going to be a special treat for the ladies.

Supriya Joshi

Agents of Ishq (AOI), organisers of the event, is a multi-media digital project for open and honest conversations about sex and love. It aims at building a community where young minds can speak freely about issues around the different facets of intimate life, as well as to enable them to connect with like-minded individuals.

"There is so much pressure to look a certain way or to not be considered unattractive. It's very hard to love and accept yourself in a culture that constructs certain body ideals as 'normal' and then marginalises other body types as inferior and undeserving of love and respect or desire, or denies them the enjoyment of dressing up," says Paromita Vohra, it's founder.

Paromita Vohra

Yet, there are individuals who break through these constrictions and learn to love their bodies by beginning to celebrate their own ideas of fashion, make-up and dance. Vohra considers Supriya Joshi one such role model, seeing that the comedian is an inspiration for many young people today. At the root of bringing Joshi on board lay this thought - get her to talk more in-depth about her journey to help others see how they could map a similar, liberating journey for themselves.

Better known as Supaarwoman, Joshi has been vocal on body shaming and has dealt with Internet trolls with a heavy hand and heavier wit. A casual scroll up and down her social media handles revealed to us the kind of bucolic and acerbic body shaming and comments she deals with on a regular basis. Eager to debunk long-standing ideals of beauty, Joshi hopes to engage the audience in conversations regarding the importance of loving oneself and accepting who we really are.

"I have been overweight all my life. So, my schooling years and to an extent even today, haven't been easy. When I was growing up nobody took the time out to tell me that I was good enough and it took me a lot of time to realise my self-worth and understand what it takes to feel beautiful from within. So, now that I have a voice I can be there for the people who don't hear enough that they're great. I want everyone to know, whoever they are and however they look, right now they are all beautiful," she signs off.

ON: June 10, 5 pm to 7 pm
AT: Kala Studio, Khar West.
CALL: 9892075622
COST: Rs 150