In our second episode, we speak to Ruth Vanita, an academic, an activist, and an author who has contributed immensely to literature around gender, sexuality, and culture. She co-founded India’s first nationwide feminist magazine called Manushi: A journal about Women and Society, which combined academic research and grassroots activism. An author of several books such as Gender, Sex and the City: Urdu Rekhti Poetry in India, Memory of Light, Love’s Rite: Same-sex Marriage in India and the West and Dancing with the Nation: Courtesans of Bombay Cinema, she has also translated many works of fiction and poetry from Hindi and Urdu to English. 

As we speak to her about her book Dancing with the Nation: Courtesans of Bombay Cinema, we explore her ground-breaking study of courtesans and courtesan imagery in 235 films, throwing light on the role the courtesan figure played in shaping the modern Indian erotic, political and religious imagination. So let’s into the world of Bombay Cinema and be a part of a journey of understanding the challenge the courtesan figure puts to the patriarchal set-up of family, of marriage and of sexuality.

About the host

Swati is a Social Design Practitioner, a researcher, and a podcaster. She has been working with the medium of audio for over 5 years, running a community radio station in Ahmedabad,  and has experimented with various forms of story-telling through different mediums. She is a feminist and is an avid reader, often finding ways to collaborate with spaces that can build towards solidarity and awareness.