Sandip Roy is an acclaimed journalist and novelist, a widely published columnist, a longtime radio host and podcaster, and the former editor of Trikone, a pioneering South Asian LGBTQ+ magazine. Roy reflects on his return to Kolkata (he also maintains ties to California), his insider-outsider lens as an Indian American, and his latest book, titled Chapal Rani, the Last Queen of Bengal: The Life and Times of a Female Impersonator.
How has your writing/existence been affected by your move to India, observing—as you did—“the routine of life by the Hooghly River?”
I sometimes joke I just moved from one Cal(ifornia) to another Cal(cutta). I moved for family reasons to be closer to my elderly mother. I got involved in the arts and literary scene here. That eventually led to my first book being published as well as my columns. I was fortunate the column was well received. I think the insider-outsider perspective of being Indian but with so many years in the U.S. might have helped give it its own flair. Those were happy accidents, not any plan.
Please share your observations on the status of Indian Americans in the U.S.
I was recently in the U.S. to do some events related to my new book [Chapal Rani, published by Seagull Books]. I feel that Indian Americans are realizing that in Trump’s America there is no such thing really as the model minority. Indian Americans had prided themselves on being that, but it isn’t a guarantee for safety and acceptance in the current climate in America, which seems to have turned against immigrants in general with “illegal immigrants” as the bogeymen.
Same-sex relations are legal in India. Still, what have your personal experiences been like?
Chapal Bhaduri, the subject of my latest book, now in his 80s, said he didn’t know about Section 377 (the law criminalizing homosexuality) when he was in a relationship with a man. By the time the law was struck down in 2018, he joked it didn’t matter to him—an elderly man living in an old age home alone. But it goes to show life goes on, law or no law.
Now post-decriminalization, there is a very active LGBTQ+ scene in India with Pride Marches happening not just in the major metros but smaller cities as well. However, while homosexuality has been decriminalized, India is a long way from equal rights—whether it’s in issues like marriage, non-discrimination, adoption, etc. As the recent furor over the Transgender Act passed by the government shows, rights that are given can be easily rolled back by law.
Where did the idea for Chapal Rani [which portrays the last great female impersonator of the Bengali stage] come from?
I knew of Chapal Bhaduri but didn’t really know him. He was an iconic figure as the last of the great female impersonators of Bengali jatra stage in the 1960s and ’70s. When I lived in California in the 1990s- 2000s, I edited Trikone, one of the earliest magazines on South Asian LGBT+ issues. I am now embarrassed that while we scrounged for every bit of content that was both desi and queer, we never covered Chapal Bhaduri. The reason was we didn’t pay attention to jatra or folk theater because it was not regarded as “high” culture unlike proscenium theater.
How did you get involved with the Kolkata Literary Meet? Please comment on the continuing popularity of these festivals in India and the love of books they exemplify.
I used to host a radio show in San Francisco and had interviewed many authors for it. When the Kolkata Literary Meet was starting up, one of those authors recommended me to the organizers, who asked me to moderate a couple of sessions. Since then, I have been involved with every iteration. Now there are many festivals all over India. Kolkata alone has at least three. Some would complain it’s become more of a selfie seeking scene, but at least these are people seeking selfies with writers.
What unexpected challenge, if any, did you encounter in writing Chapal Rani?
The biggest challenge was that most of Chapal Bhaduri’s peers and colleagues from his jatra days are no longer around. So, it was difficult to get their perspective. I also did not want this book to be a hagiography. In the end I settled on a style of creative nonfiction, intercutting Chapal Bhaduri’s own story with fictional interludes that could bring in other perspectives—like that of an actress from his time, one of the other female impersonators who didn’t have a second innings like he did, and even a South Asian American drag queen who is more versed in modern gender theory.
Though I thought I was writing about this one individual, his story does resonate with many people because we all fear the fickleness of fame, we worry about the loneliness of old age, and we’re anxious about what happens to an artist when the world feels no need for their art anymore. Chapal Bhaduri certainly held a mirror to me.
Bharti Kirchner is the author of nine novels, including Shiva Dancing and Darjeeling, and four cookbooks. Her Murder at Jaipur: A Maya Mallick Mystery is the third novel in her detective series. She lives in Washington state.