Varta Trust

Varta Trust Gender and sexuality dialogue through publishing, events, research, advocacy, training and referrals.

Varta Trust promotes dialogue and understanding on gender and sexuality as issues intimate and integral to human development in India. We look at gender and sexuality through the prism of intersections with age, class, caste, religion, race, marital status, geographical location, sexual and reproductive health, HIV, disability, mental health, education, livelihood, social security, environment and

human rights. Varta Trust aims to publish multi-format and mutli-lingual publications for mass audiences as platforms for dialogue on gender and sexuality. The “Varta” webzine (in a blog format till July 2016) is the first of these publications. Our publishing work is complemented by activities around awareness generation through public events, referrals to services, training, social research, and policy, legal, economic inclusion and media advocacy on gender and sexuality. Currently, a group of 26 people from the fields of journalism, social work, social and biomedical research, human rights and law, health, academics, art, information technology, engineering, business, financial management and q***r community mobilization forms the larger Varta team. As a registered trust, Varta is led by a five-member Board of Trustees consisting of Pawan Dhall (Founding Trustee), Kaushik Gupta, Madhuja Nandi, Dr. Srabasti Majumdar and Susanta Pramanik. The first meeting of Varta was held on June 3, 2012 in Kolkata, and the “Varta” blog started on August 1, 2013. Varta was registered as a trust on May 14, 2014 with the ADSR Sealdah, District South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, with number IV - 00322 of 2014. We are also registered with the Income Tax Department with unique registration no. AABTV9002AE20211 under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Email: [email protected]

Website (and webzine): www.vartagensex.org

Blog address: http://varta2013.blogspot.in/

Blog and website editor: Pawan Dhall

Please also visit Q***r Friendly Lawyers Network - West Bengal Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/qfln.westbengal

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/

Telegram channel: t.me/vartatrust

Instagram account: www.instagram.com/vartatrust/

Varta Trust acknowledges the support provided by all its well-wishers (individuals and organizations), whether moral, in terms of ideas, or in the form of resources – you know who you are. Credit for Varta logos used in profile and cover pictures: Rudra Kishore Mandal

'Flood of Despair and Indifference' - "Varta", Sep '25 issue - Shampa Sengupta writes about what the recent flooding in ...
27/09/2025

'Flood of Despair and Indifference' - "Varta", Sep '25 issue - Shampa Sengupta writes about what the recent flooding in Kolkata meant for people with disabilities and the all-round disregard for their concerns

https://vartagensex.org/2025/09/26/flood-of-despair-and-indifference/

Shampa Sengupta writes about what the recent flooding in Kolkata meant for people with disabilities and the all-round disregard for their concerns…

'On Q***r Self-determination (Part 3)' - in "Varta", Sep '25 issue - Mental health professionals Meera Dhebar and Aritra...
22/09/2025

'On Q***r Self-determination (Part 3)' - in "Varta", Sep '25 issue - Mental health professionals Meera Dhebar and Aritra C. continue their conversation on q***r worldmaking across time periods and cultures
https://vartagensex.org/2025/09/19/on-q***r-self-determination-part-3/

***rworldmaking ***rLivesMatter ***rphobia

Mental health professionals Meera Dhebar and Aritra C. continue their conversation on q***r worldmaking across time periods and cultures…

'The Wall that Held Me' - "Varta", Aug '25 issue - Risha writes about their relationship with a scarred wall full of per...
24/08/2025

'The Wall that Held Me' - "Varta", Aug '25 issue - Risha writes about their relationship with a scarred wall full of personal and political writings in their university hostel room

https://vartagensex.org/2025/08/24/the-wall-that-held-me/

***randmuslim ***rfeminism ***de

Risha writes about their relationship with a scarred wall full of personal and political writings in their university hostel room…

"The prize has always been for the entire LGBTQ+ community, as evidenced by previously shortlisted, and winning, entries...
17/08/2025

"The prize has always been for the entire LGBTQ+ community, as evidenced by previously shortlisted, and winning, entries from trans writers. And so it is a contradiction to include someone who is trans-exclusionary (terf stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist). The prize claims that it does “not eliminate books based on the wider views of the writer”. But a prize claiming to be a celebration of LGBTQ+ inclusion should know that the condition of trans people isn’t reducible to a debate in which people are simply holding “different positions” – they are a minority group facing unprecedented levels of harassment and political antagonism."

The Polari first book prize claims to promote trans rights and trans voices. But when I saw the longlist, I had to act, says Guardian writer Jason Okundaye

'The Transnational History of Hunk Culture', opinion piece written by freelancer Upasana Das in 'ArtReview' magazine pub...
13/08/2025

'The Transnational History of Hunk Culture', opinion piece written by freelancer Upasana Das in 'ArtReview' magazine published from London, UK - draws significantly from the Counsel Club Archives maintained by Varta Trust and from the recent q***r histories of India.

From New York to New Dehli, a hugely influential print tradition of hunk and gay erotica is finally seeing the light

'Objectified' - in "Varta", Aug '25 (12th birthday) issue - Mwdai writes the third in a series of articles by the artist...
12/08/2025

'Objectified' - in "Varta", Aug '25 (12th birthday) issue - Mwdai writes the third in a series of articles by the artists who participated in the ‘Q***r Objects 1.0’ exhibition held in Guwahati in late 2023

https://vartagensex.org/2025/08/12/objectified/

***rart ***robjects ***rArtists

Mwdai writes the third in a series of articles by the artists who participated in the ‘Q***r Objects 1.0’ exhibition held in Guwahati in late 2023…

“I was never made for this world, it seems. Yes, I did find some good people, some friends, some bits of love here and t...
09/08/2025

“I was never made for this world, it seems. Yes, I did find some good people, some friends, some bits of love here and there. But I can’t do this anymore. I give up. May I find the peace in death that I never found in life,” he wrote.

***de

Anamitra Roy, a biological sciences scholar, is believed to have taken an overdose of his own neurological medicines at the Kalyani institute’s biology lab on Thursday night

Hello Friends!Join us for an informative and supportive exploration of dementia - its nature, causes and practical strat...
08/08/2025

Hello Friends!

Join us for an informative and supportive exploration of dementia - its nature, causes and practical strategies for coping - designed especially for q***r and trans community members, peer counsellors, and allies.

A collaborative effort of Alzheimer's & Related Disorders Society of India, Calcutta Chapter; Storyteller Bookstore; and Varta Trust.

August 23, 2025, 4.30 to 7.00 pm
Storyteller Bookstore, 171M, Picnic Garden Road, VIP Bazaar, Kolkata 700 039

Register now at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1rgJvAy8Q_yB2ugaMFz14viz8CJUxSURwf14zJnNmQjQ/edit?ts=6895e5a3

Contact: 82503 43453 (Swati Das), 91470 54216 (Sahil)

Artwork credit: Sahil Mishra

06/08/2025

Japan is boosting support for its “employment ice age generation” with training, subsidies and job programmes to improve stability and national resilience.

Multiple reasons to celebrate!"Varta" webzine's 12th birthday (August 1, 2025) more or less coincided with another impor...
02/08/2025

Multiple reasons to celebrate!

"Varta" webzine's 12th birthday (August 1, 2025) more or less coincided with another important occasion. Our frequent contributor Mihir Seth will soon be travelling abroad for higher studies. In keeping with the Varta tradition, on July 26, 2025, we organized a get-together to wish him the very best on a new journey (check out his contributions here: https://vartagensex.org/author/mihir-seth/). This was also an occasion to say thank you to Mahua Seth for not just being an accepting and supportive parent, but also a steadfast and persuasive ally of the q***r communities. In a happy coincidence, all members of the Varta Trust's newly set up Grievance Redressal Committee to address sexual harassment complaints were also present together for the first time (see first photo and read more details here: https://vartagensex.org/about-varta/).

Photo credits: Multiple people

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Varta Trust promotes dialogue and understanding on gender and sexuality as issues intimate and integral to human development in India. We look at gender and sexuality through the prism of intersections with age, class, caste, religion, race, marital status, geographical location, sexual and reproductive health, HIV, disability, mental health, education, livelihood, social security, environment and human rights. Varta Trust aims to publish multi-format and mutli-lingual publications for mass audiences as platforms for dialogue on gender and sexuality. The “Varta” webzine (in a blog format till July 2016) is the first of these publications. Our publishing work is complemented by activities around awareness generation through public events, referrals to services, training, social research, and legal, policy and media advocacy on gender and sexuality. Currently, a group of 22 people from the fields of journalism, social work, social and biomedical research, human rights and law, health, academics, art, information technology, engineering, business and financial management, event management and q***r community mobilization forms the larger Varta team. As a registered trust, Varta is lead by a three-member Board of Trustees consisting of Pawan Dhall (Founding Trustee), Kaushik Gupta and Madhuja Nandi. The first meeting of Varta was held on June 3, 2012 in Kolkata, and the “Varta” blog started on August 1, 2013. Varta was registered as a trust on May 14, 2014 with the ADSR Sealdah, District South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, with number IV - 00322 of 2014. We are also registered with the Income Tax Department with numbers CIT (Exemption), Kolkata/12AA/2017-18/A/10033 and CIT (Exemption), Kolkata/80G/2018-19/A/10081. Email: [email protected] Website (and webzine): www.vartagensex.org Blog address: http://varta2013.blogspot.in/ Blog and website editor: Pawan Dhall Please also visit Q***r Friendly Lawyers Network - West Bengal Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/qfln.westbengal

Twitter handle: @vartatrust

YouTube channel: Click here. Varta Trust acknowledges the support provided by all its well wishers (individuals and organizations), whether moral, in terms of ideas, or in the form of resources – you know who you are. Credit for Varta logos used in profile and cover pictures: Rudra Kishore Mandal