Pride Weekend 🌈🌈🌈 !!!

 

(A picture from Toronto Pride - June 2022)

Finally Pride Weekend is here! For most of us queer people here, it is a kind of festival season in Toronto. Though I used to attend the Pride walks in Mumbai as well, the fervor here is absolutely different. People draw their plans way in advance, book the events at least a month or two before (otherwise everything is sold out and one will have stand in lines outside for hours, even then you aren't sure you'll gain entry or not 😅) & pick their outfits for each party & the main pride walk.

 All in all, it's the equivalent of Gay Christmas (or Gay Diwali for us desi folks) 😀

That being said, I am celebrating pride very low key this time. Not going to any party, especially the desi ones that I personally love - to drink & dance to heart's content :) But I'll go for the Pride Walk for sure though on Sunday. I remember getting hammered at the last year's RANGEELA (South Asian LGBTQ+ event) during Pride and dancing to bollywood songs like crazy 😍. That way I'll always be a desi at heart 😁

This time it's the combination of no job (hence no extravagant monies to spend) and a rather subdued mood that has been lingering on for quite some time. But I am living vicariously through my friends who are hopping from party to another (sometimes multiple in day!) and enjoying themselves. I tell myself, next year I'll go to these events. But to be frank, I am not a party-party-all-the-time kinda gay anyway. Instead of going to several events, dancing with strangers (though absolutely gorgeous, hot white men!) on techno-funk beats, getting drunk & having random sex, I'd rather go to just one event, slightly tipsy & dance to London Thumakda :D

Music is the quintessential part of the party experience and I somehow find it difficult to connect with the English music. A few classics/famous songs aside, I don't even know many of them. Whereas hindi music I have grown up with and how can one not connect with the emotions of 'Dola re dola re dola re dola, hai dola dil dola' or 'kajra re kajra re, tere kaale kaale naina' 😆

तुझसे मिलना पुरानी दिल्ली में, छोड़ आये निशानी दिल्ली में, बल्लीमारां से दरीबे तलक, तेरी-मेरी कहानी दिल्ली में 💓

 (Arguably the most famous drag artist from Canada - Brook Lynn Hytes, who is also the judge on Canada's Drag Race @Toronto Pride June 2022)

Happy Pride my lovelies! 🌈🌈🌈