Each June, the world blooms just a little brighter — not simply in color, however in braveness. Throughout India, from sun-dappled coasts to bustling metropolis squares, Delight Month isn’t merely a celebration; it’s a reminder. A reminder that love, in all its varieties, deserves to be seen, heard, and cherished.
However past the rainbow flags and joyous marches lies one thing even deeper: the quiet energy of belonging. For somebody taking their first tentative steps out of the closet, or an ally desirous to pay attention and be taught, these gatherings are greater than occasions — they’re lifelines. They’re the place tales are shared, arms are held, and futures are rewritten, one hug, one tune, one march at a time.
This June, whether or not you’re a part of the LGBTQIA+ neighborhood or a steadfast ally, right here’s your invitation to be a part of one thing larger. From movie festivals to artwork exhibitions, Delight in India is looking — not simply to have fun, however to attach, to heal, and to construct a future that holds area for everybody.
Listed below are seven occasions the place you will discover that spark — and perhaps, in probably the most surprising of moments, end up.
1. Step into tales that mirror and encourage
KASHISH Mumbai Worldwide Queer Movie Competition
On the coronary heart of Mumbai’s tradition scene, KASHISH is greater than a movie pageant — it’s a sanctuary for tales. Right here, movies grow to be mirrors and home windows: mirrors reflecting the neighborhood’s lived realities, home windows opening to worlds of braveness, hope, and delight.
The sixteenth version will function over 130 movies from 45 international locations, with workshops, panel discussions, and uncommon moments to meet the filmmakers who’re reshaping what queer narratives appear like. Opening with Daniel Craig’s Queer and shutting with Elliot Web page’s Near You, KASHISH 2025 guarantees tales that stick with you lengthy after the credit roll.
- The place: Cinepolis, Andheri West & Alliance Française, Marine Strains, Mumbai
- When: 4 to eight June 2025
- Extra Particulars: Click on right here
A month-long lineup of occasions by New Delhi LGBTQIA+ Centre
In a world that too typically asks queer people to shrink or keep silent, the New Delhi LGBTQIA+ Centre, powered by the Naz Basis, presents one thing easy but radical — an area to only exist, precisely as you might be. This June, as Delight Month colors the capital with hope and risk, they’ve put collectively a line-up of occasions that transcend celebration, creating area for reflection, progress, connection, and therapeutic.
From intimate assist teams for asexual, aromantic, transgender, and non-binary people to Worry of the Queer — a workshop sequence for therapists — each gathering is a reminder that Delight isn’t a second; it’s a motion.
Look out for Crystal Queer, a night of garments swaps and open mics, and the TransMasc Assist Group, providing quiet affirmation for voices typically unheard. Artwork talks, movie screenings, and e book launches weave a bigger tapestry of resistance and pleasure.
- The place: New Delhi LGBTQIA+ Centre, Naz Basis, New Delhi
- When: Occasions unfold throughout June 2025
- For extra particulars, get in contact right here.
3. Empower queer-led companies
Sidecar Means Enterprise: Delight Version
Delight isn’t solely about marching — generally, it’s about constructing.
This June, Sidecar India is popping their cosy Delhi café into an area the place queer-owned companies can shine. It’s not only a market; it’s a spot to satisfy the folks behind the concepts, hear their tales, and have fun every part it takes to construct one thing daring and true. Each stall, each product has just a little little bit of braveness stitched into it — and also you’re invited to be a part of it.
- The place: Sidecar, M Block Market, GK 2, New Delhi
- When: 22 June 2025, 1 PM – 4 PM
- For extra particulars, get in contact right here.
4. Have fun braveness and native delight
Preetiya Habba 2025: Workshops and stay music performances
Some occasions really feel much less like gatherings and extra like homecomings — and Preetiya Habba is one among them.
This vibrant fundraiser in Bengaluru, organised by Coalition of Intercourse Staff’, Sexual & Gender Minority Rights (CSGMR), Karnataka, brings collectively queer-owned and queer-made companies, stay performances, workshops, meals, music, and most significantly, neighborhood. However past the colors and celebration, it’s about constructing one thing larger: supporting the Karnataka Swabhimana Habba, a delight rooted in native resistance and delight.
Come for the music and flea markets, keep for the sensation of standing shoulder to shoulder with a neighborhood writing its future — with pleasure, braveness, and a complete lot of affection.
- The place: Bangalore Inventive Circus, Bengaluru
- When: 14 June 2025, 11 AM – 8 PM
- For extra particulars, get in contact right here.
5. Inform your story with only a telephone
OUTFrame 2025
Everybody has a narrative — generally all you want is a telephone and just a little braveness to inform it.
OUTFrame 2025 is a three-day residential workshop the place queer voices take the director’s chair. Hosted by the Keshav Suri Basis, this distinctive programme invitations members to create, shoot, and edit their very own movies utilizing simply their cellphones. Led by filmmaker Tushar Tyagi, it’s not only a workshop — it’s an opportunity to show lived expertise into artwork.
Three days of dreaming, filming, creating — the place your voice shapes the story.
- The place: The Lalit Suri Hospitality Faculty, New Delhi
- When: 7 to 9 June 2025
- For extra particulars, get in contact right here.
6. Discover connection past romance
Pace-dating meet (on-line)
Not each significant relationship needs to be romantic, and this Delight Month, Platonicity is creating area for one thing simply as highly effective: platonic and non-romantic connections.
This on-line speed-dating model occasion welcomes friendships, queerplatonic relationships, and marriages of comfort (MOCs) — reminding us that love can appear like so many various issues. It’s an area to satisfy, swap tales, and perhaps discover the form of companionship that feels excellent, with out the stress of romance.
Typically what we want most isn’t a date — it’s somebody who merely will get it.
- The place: On-line (be a part of from wherever!)
- When: 22 June 2025, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM IST
- For extra particulars, get in contact right here.
7. Categorical your self freely by means of style!
Typically the best act — getting dressed — is usually a quiet revolution.
Put on Your Reality is an area the place garments don’t have any labels, make-up has no gender, and there are not any “opposites” — solely what feels proper to you. Hosted by Vikalp in Vadodara, this gathering invitations you to convey your garments, make-up, equipment, and most significantly, your genuine self.
Born from listening to the trans neighborhood about feeling unseen, this occasion guarantees a celebration of expression in its freest, most affirming type. No packing containers, no binaries. Simply you.
- The place: Vikalp, E 5, Saptgiri Duplex, Akota, Vadodara, Gujarat
- When: 14 June 2025, 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM
- For extra particulars, get in contact right here.
8. Share the tales that formed you
Guide membership meet-up
Books have at all times been secure areas — locations the place so many people first discovered reflections of ourselves.
This July, the Delhi Queer Areas (DQS) Lit Membership is inviting you to have fun that magic, offline and in particular person. Out, Loud & Proud — their first-ever offline meet-up — guarantees a day of books, dialog, and neighborhood. Convey a e book meaning one thing to you, be a part of enjoyable Lit-Combine actions, swap tales over espresso, and take heed to a heart-to-heart hearth chat with queer writer Soumojit Paul.
It’s not simply in regards to the books — it’s in regards to the tales we feature, and the connections we construct once we share them.
- The place: LGBTQIA+ Centre, East of Kailash, New Delhi
- When: 6 July 2025, 12 PM – 4 PM (Although this occasion is in early July, its coronary heart beats with Delight Month’s spirit.)
- For extra particulars, get in contact right here.
Edited by Vidya Gowri