Drag, Princesses, Tea and Colouring at Gender Bender 

“What do you want to be today?” A princess once asked, “A leaf, with all the colours,” replied a man. “A footballer,” replied another. That was how the Drag Story Hour and Tea Party began at Gender Bender a three-day event held recently. Princess Shy (Sayantika Majumdar) read out excerpts from two unique children’s books on the stories of queer children at the Max Muller Bhavan. 

“What do you want to be today?” A princess once asked, “A leaf, with all the colours,” replied a man. “A footballer,” replied another. That was how the Drag Story Hour and Tea Party began at Gender Bender a three-day event held recently. Princess Shy (Sayantika Majumdar) read out excerpts from two unique children’s books on the stories of queer children at the Max Muller Bhavan. 

The Many Colours of Anshu, the first book read by Princess Shy was written by Anshumaan Sathe. The story follows the tale of spunky little Anshu as he explores the world and the options of who he could be, A boy? A girl? Or Anything he wants to be! While reading an excerpt from the book, Princess Shy screamed and cried just like the little kid in the book and took everyone into the world of Anshu. 

Princess Shy asked the audience again what they wanted to be. A person with bright blue hair said they wanted to be calm so they could get through the day, and another wanted to be a pretty fairy sitting on a daffodil. Princess Shy introduced the second book, Boy in the Cupboard, written by Harshala Gupte and illustrated by Priya Dali. 

From adults to teenagers and their parents, many people attended the event. Shilpa and her son Neel found out about the event from their sister-in-law who is a part of the queer community. Shilpa, who is also an author, said that the session showcased queer stories without adding the adult lenses, “The way Princess Shy rendered the reading and how someone different perceives themselves with respect to the world around us was really nice.” 

Princess Shy also known as Sayantika Majumdar is from Gaysi land, she works for Gaysi Family, a digital safe space for the queer community from across Southeast Asia. She is a drag artist and uses the medium of drag to be whatever one wants to be. This was her first time doing a book reading, “I think it’s not just for children but the inner child in all of us, growing up we didn’t have books that helped us feel seen as queer folks.”

 She expressed her love for books and how she didn’t just want to be a princess that sits in a castle but one that slays dragons, “We are so limited by the understanding of gender we have in the world, having books like this are cathartic, it gives me hope that children have what we don’t have. These books aren’t limited to queer children but teaches children to be kinder.” 

“Where’s the tea? It can’t be a tea party without tea!” screamed Princess Shy, signalling the end of the session.