West Bengal Forum for Gender and Sexual Minority Rights, organised the Kolkata Rainbow Carnival on January 13. A Carnival in making for months and in continuation with celebration of decriminalisation of Section 377, it was free of any corporate sponsorship and crowded funded. The crowd funding began in December 2018, to support the pride walk, the Queer Literary Festival and the Carnival.
It was held at Shyam Park in Kolkata’s Shyambazar area. The carnival began on a sunny Sunday morning and went on till late evening. Stalls from handcrafted jewellery, accessories to food, were set up and the park was filled with rainbow colours and decorations. The participants ranged from teenagers to elderly, each presented their own art and craft and skills at the stalls. It also provided a stage for singers, dancers, poets and other performers, who ranged from amateurs to professional from the LGBTQIA community.
Each performance was a celebration of breaking away from fear. The audience compromised of people from locality and students from various universities who came to show their support to the community as it strives for equality. With this carnival, it marked the closure of one of the longest Pride Months Kolkata ever had.
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