House Nights: Pride got steamy at Soho House Mumbai
We partied hard at Mumbai House in celebration of the city’s LGBTQIA+ community – with Indian-electro beats, risqué drag performances and lots and lots of dancing
Sunday 17 July by Soho House
In honour of Pride Month, we invited local LGBTQIA+ drag artists and musicians to come and perform at the House to celebrate Mumbai’s wider queer community and the strides made in LGBTQIA+ representation in the city in recent years. Kicking the night off was duo Suman Sridhar and Natasha Mendonca, performing The Black Mamba – a 60-minute set that blended traditional Indian music with hip-hop, jazz and afrobeat. Turning up the heat was Durga Gawde as Duraflex the Dominatrix and Drag King Naaz B., who took over the dance floor with performances that got the crowd’s hearts racing.
We caught up with Durga Gawde, India’s first performing drag king and a Soho House fellow, before their performance to talk about their practice, discovering drag and plans for the future.
Scroll down to see what went down and to read our interview.
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself, your creative work and activism?
‘I am a sculptor by training, having graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. I am also an educator, activist, performer, model, and actor, as well as India's first performing drag king. All of my work stems from my fundamental belief that we all exist because we are supposed to exist. My life and work are to take up space in the world and claim it without guilt or shame.’
How did you discover drag and what does it mean to you?
‘I found drag after I came out in 2017. I started to watch RuPaul's Drag Race on Netflix and was fascinated. Drag to me is an artform of illusion and gender expression. I started performing in June 2018 as Shakti, my drag king character. Shakti was a way to express and embrace my masculinity, which had been suppressed by the expectations of society. One of my first performances as Shakti was on the opening night of Soho House Mumbai. Duraflex is a character I have created over the past couple of years in an effort to embrace my idea of femininity, which is tied to power. Duraflex lets me express that as a dominatrix.’
How did you first start working together with Soho House and what is this collaboration like?
‘I was part of the first Under 27 committee at Soho House Mumbai. After that, I made friends with fellow members, met my manager, booked projects and just had fun. Currently, I’m a fellow for Soho House Mumbai, where I’ll be taking up space to make a difference and work on a project that has never been seen in the world.’
What are your creative plans for the near future?
‘I want to travel the world with my Soho House fellowship. I want my life and work to effect change in the lives of people who have been made to feel like they don’t have a shot at life. My efforts in the world are to curate and inspire change through creative action.’
