BETTER TOGETHER : Shweta Sangtani, Tanisha RK, and Aashish Mehrotra are exploring new ways of living and loving. On Shweta: Dress, LOVEBIRDS. On Tanisha: Cardigan, pants; both LOVEBIRDS. On Aashish: Shirt, KARDO. Pants, MARGN
“YOU CAN’T HAVE all three names on the rent agreement,” I was told as I finalised the papers for the first-ever house I would be referring to as my home. “It’s too complicated to explain and housing societies typically expect the agreement to be signed by an individual or a married couple. You know, families.”
What is that word? And why does it seem to follow me everywhere I go?
As a teenager, I didn’t have the right words to express my queer, non-binary, Bahujan identity. The fear that my future would always look different from the aspirational ideals that most people chased after—and what elders expected of me—always lingered. There was no room to envision a stable and conventional marriage for myself, not when partners who once cherished and celebrated my fluidity would eventually remind me to ‘act normal’ around their friends and families. There was no space for authenticity, not when so many of my partners routinely gushed about wanting me to take their last name and raising our hypothetical kids to believe in their gods, indirectly suggesting that I forfeit my own culture and language for the promise of a family.
What does the word ‘family’ mean to someone who was only ever taught to shrink themselves to earn one?
Denne historien er fra August 2022-utgaven av VOGUE India.
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Denne historien er fra August 2022-utgaven av VOGUE India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.
