‘At Odds With Even Love‘ is an evening of poetry and prose: the amorous song of the courtesan, songs from the Bhakti and Sufi traditions, and queer stories from the Indian Subcontinent. This labor of love, shared in an intimate gathering, juxtaposes amorous songs from the Indian musical tradition and stories of love, longing, passion, and pain from the queer community.
To celebrate the first anniversary of decriminalizing homosexuality in India, this solo musical-storytelling performance, At Odds With Even Love, premiered on September 6th, 2019, at Kamakshi Mehfil, in Chennai. During the performance, Bala reads out queer stories/letters from 1980-90s India and presents the amorous song of the courtesan from South Indian Classical traditions.
This iteration of the project has been made possible thanks to the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Dean’s University of the Future, Now! award, the Arts Dean’s Fund for Excellence and Equity, UCSC, andfaculty advisor Prof. Dard Neuman.
As this project expands geographically and musically in 2022, it includes stories of transnational and diasporic queer experiences, as well as a more comprehensive range of love poem-song genres from across the Indian sub-continent.
This project is ongoing and further invites audiences to contribute personal queer stories, preferably in the form of a letter. If you feel inspired, write to me at reachbkrishnan@gmail.com.
Upcoming Performances
Jun 22, 2024, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Feminist Theory and Music 17 Conference
Aug 1, 2024, Surabaya, Indonesia, The International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) Annual Conference
Past Performances
Sep 11, 2023, Performing Arts Department, Ashoka University, Delhi NCR Details
Sep 6, 2023, Bangalore International Centre, Bangalore Details
May 19, 2023, UCLA Queer Graduate Conference, Los Angeles Details
April 29, 2023, Indexical, Santa Cruz- Details
28th October, 2022 – University Of California, Santa Cruz, California – Details
August 23rd, 2022 – Art Omi Music Residency, Hudson, NY
August 10th, 2022 – India Habitat Centre, New Delhi – Details
July 30th, 2022 – Gender Lab, Center For Development Studies & Activities, Pune, Details
July 26th, 2022 – ARTISANS’ Centre India, Mumbai – Details
July 25th, 2022 – St. Andrews, Sahej Foundation in association with SAPP, Mumbai – Details
July 10th, 2022 – Out and About and CosmiCloud, Bangalore, Details
July 9th, 2022 – Living Room Kutcheri, Bangalore, Details
June 26th, 2022 – Abhyas Studio, Delhi, Details
April 21st, 2021 – Art Brute, Pondicherry, Details
January 31st, 2020 – Anat Speaks, Mumbai, Details
November 2nd, 2019 – Katha Ghera Productions, Kathmandu, Details
September 6th, 2019 – Kamakshi Mehfil, Chennai, Details
From the audiences:
He juxtaposes queer stories of love, desire, pain and passion along with the amorous song, the padam, which today falls under the category of Carnatic music that has been nationally rendered “precious”. The two, thus, respectively elicit very different orientations, where as the former teases voyeuristic curiosity or even identification with the lives of others, and even more so in the case of queers; while the latter calls for a self-contained image that is ruled by propriety. While the one is peering into the lives of others from a very private space, the latter is holding-back for the purpose of a self-contained image. So, for Bala to intermittently mingle the two is disorienting for the viewer as it asks for a radical to-and-fro shift within their orientations and positions. And this successive disorientation may rattle their stances and positions that are based upon varieties of conditioning. But, from within that disorientation they might come to see openly!
– Navtej Singh Johar, Dancer, Yoga Teacher and Activist, Delhi, 2022
It’s always validating, as a queer person, to witness ‘hidden narratives’ getting uncovered and celebrated. The music was also moving in a deeper way. It reaffirmed my core belief that the arts (music/storytelling) can be used for socio-educational purposes and to change minds because of its emotional impact.
– Niranjan, Author, Actor and Activist, Kathmandu, 2019
The resonances of sexuality, playfulness and the bringing together of culture with social reality in the performance is very exciting. Along with the power of justice stories and the content, I also felt that as a form the performance beaks the very narrow idea of Indian/Hindu culture.
– Manak Matiyani, Independent Consultant and Advisor, Delhi, 2022