At a recent Kitty Ko event
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Pride Month may have concluded, but for those who truly walk the talk, red-letter dates in the calendar come at regular intervals. Among them is Kitty Ko, a club in the city which has been celebrating life in all its colours, over the past several years. This month, they are hosting drag performances every Sunday, each of which highlight the culture and its presence in India.Arko Dev Sinha, brand manager for Kitty Su India, believes self-expression goes beyond the body. “Why should our drag queens, who are so flamboyant and artistic, perform on stage for five to 10 minutes when they can take the entire night for themselves?”With this in mind, Kitty Ko has planned performances throughout the month of July; the first one, which recently concluded was on Lady Gaga. Queers have been worshiping her for ages, so dedicating a drag night performance to her was par for the course, says Arko.“Ever since we brought Violet Chachki, the American drag queen to India in 2011, Kitty Ko has introduced a culture of drag with “out and loud” performances on stage. Though these events initially attracted queer audiences, today one can see a lot of the allyship at our venues,” he says.The upcoming show on July 12, titled, ‘Category Is: Vogue’, has been curated by Jiya Labeija from Goa, and specifically centres around this culture and community building in India. To be conducted in collaboration with other artistes, Arko says this is the first time a show of this kind will unfold in Bengaluru.
