Attend this queer fest in Mumbai to learn more about LGBTQiA+ community

Bhushan Korgaonkar

Coming weekend, keep an eye out for this interesting event that you wouldn't want to miss. Short + Salty by Inqueerable, is a mini fest that brings 10 plays that seamlessly tell stories from the LGBTQiA+ community. This mélange of stories includes Pehli Shaadi, Love Sex Aani A/C, Aanchal Ki Mummy, A Woman That Lives Inside of Me, Ek Thi Diva, Apsara Aali, Nam Myoho Renge Crow, In Tehran, The Only Person In The Hall and Straight from the Heart.

Written and directed by several people, few stories are part of a larger script, while some have been written specifically for this fest. Love Sex Aani A/C is part of the play Char Don Tukde play; Nam Myoho Renge Crow is from Even Mists Have Silver Linings; In Tehran is from Those Left Behind Things; and The Only Person In The Hall is from the play Postcards from Colaba.

The fest is a Theatre Jil Jil Ramāmani presentation in association with B Spot Productions and Kala Studio, and the plays will be performed in Hindi, English and Marathi. Curated by Vikram Phukan and managed by Bhushan Korgaonkar, the plays are around 10 to 12 minutes long, and are packed beautifully in a 90-minute ensemble show. "One story ends and the second starts, seamlessly taking audiences through different journeys. The entire fest is a collective effort and all of us have helped with every kind of work - acting, production, costume etc. It's a synergy," says Phukan. The curator hopes that the audience will love what they see on stage and more importantly, that they all enjoy.

On: August 12; 4.30 pm and 7 pm
At: Piroja Studio, Zee Nayak, 302, MG Road, Navpada, Vile Parle East.
Log on to: @vikithephu
Cost: Rs 350

In Tehran: Part of a larger work on Iranians seeking asylum in the United Kingdom, this story revolves around Hamid who encounters a cavalcade of men that is almost akin to one long clandestine dalliance. It shows the character's difficulty in talking about homosexuality, which he was traditionally taught to hide and reject. Pic/Shadab Khan

Aanchal Ki Mummy: A journalist who is on the queer beat has been invited to a transgender woman's wedding. She goes to Colaba's Machhimar Nagar to attend the wedding of a young trans woman to a Goddess, with everyone waiting for her mother to give her blessings. Narrated by the scribe, it is an emotional roller coaster.

Tanvi Lehr Sonigra rehearsing Nam Myoho Renge Crow. Pics Courtesy/Vikram Phukan, Kunal Vijayakar and Shreya Shetty

Chakori Dwivedi performing in Ek Thi Diva

Pehli Shaadi: The story is about Rangoli, who is a member of the kinnar community, who left her gharana to be on her own, to find herself. It's about a kinnar's aspirations, ambitions and dreams that she sets out to achieve

Apsara Aali: Akshay Malwankar, a bonafide lavani dancer, in this story, plays the role of a popular male lavani performer. He introspects the dualities and binaries that mark life, on stage and off it. It's about the character's struggles of acceptance and being accepted.

Shubhangi Bhujbal and Shilpa Sane in Love Sex Aani A/C