Pride Month 2025| Interfaith Pride Fest to be held in Hyderabad
The Hindu
Interfaith Pride Fest in Hyderabad on June 14 celebrates queerness and spirituality, offering a safe space for expression and reflection.
Queerness and spirituality come together at Interfaith Pride Fest, a first-of-its-kind event in Hyderabad on June 14. Organised by DragVanti (a performing arts theatre) in collaboration with Rubaroo, Mobbera Foundation, Humans of Nirvana, and Bagh Bean Cafe, the festival aims to create a space for expression, reflection, and celebration. According to drag artiste Patruni Chidananda Sastry, the fest is a response to the rising religious intolerance faced by queer communities across the country.
The fest offers a platform for individuals to share their experiences of navigating faith while being queer. “Many LGBTQIA+ people are often told their faith and identity cannot coexist, leaving them excluded from both religious spaces and queer circles for being too much of one or the other,” says Patruni. The festival aims to create a space where both identities can be held with dignity and respect.
The four-hour event (5 pm to 9 pm) features live performances by queer artists from diverse faith backgrounds, along with storytelling sessions and a talk series. Speakers will explore topics such as navigating atheism and queerness, Gen Z’s relationship with religion and faith, and how same-sex married couples view marriage through the lens of faith.
When Patruni first started doing drag in 2019, many saw it as an “anti-culture” art form — something hypersexual and outside traditional norms. But drawing from classical forms, Patruni realised that drag, too, can engage with questions of faith. This interest eventually led to deeper interfaith work.
Patruni was part of a team that travelled to the UK for the Interfaith Youth Leadership programme organised by NGO Rubaroo, which brought together people of all faiths — queer and LGBTQIA+ — to reclaim faith spaces. Events like the annual Interfaith Pride Fest in America and the Dragon Spirituality Summit also became sources of inspiration.
Interfaith Pride Fest at Bagh Bean Cafe in Hyderabad on June 14; Entry free
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