Come as you are to celebrate life and love at Bengaluru’s Kitty Ko

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.

At a recent Kitty Ko event
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Leather and Lips curated by Miss Bhenji will feature Sylvia Frost, Veronica Wild, Joffery and Pawlean on July 19, with a Kooth Night the following Sunday where Mahira, Rangheera and Trixie Cup will perform.

Arko says leather and lips are iconic symbols associated with Kitty Su, an imaginary character known for her flamboyantly, glamorous persona. “Kitty Su stands for self expression and we are nurturing community-driven, culture-led organic conversations around these events,” he adds.

Kooth was prevalent in India, in various forms, much before drag came to be known, says Arko. “We have chhau nach from West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha, as well as Kathakali in the South where one transforms into a goddess. Though kooth has been performed traditionally, we also want to figure out its queer narrative.”

Arko says these shows have been appreciated by the local queer audience “who have grown up watching regional shows and music, but never one that told a queer story”.

Kitty Ko Bengaluru opened 15 years ago and has been hosting events every Sunday for the past seven to eight years, and has chapters in Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur and Mumbai as well.

Kitty Ko is at The LaLit Ashok, one of the hotel brands accredited by International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) in India, where numerous queer, trans, the differently-abled, acid attack survivors and non-binary people work on the front lines, and not in the background.

Updates on events at Kitty Ko Bengaluru available at @kittykoindia