Inspired by depictions of queer dancers and courtesans in ancient paintings and temple sculptures, “Parda” (The Veil) explores the tensions between historical sexual freedom, queerness, modesty, heteropatriarchy, revisionist Indian history, and hereditary artistic communities. How has queerness been erased, veiled, and closeted in the past, present, and future? How have the canon, modern tellings of ancient history, and contemporary narratives surrounding both queer people and hereditary dancers obscured important perspectives, and how has queerness and queer community persisted in the past, present, and future to outlive every bigot and bigoted institution?
