Highlights
- Trikone Australia was founded in 2007 to support Australia's South Asian LGBTQI community
- With over 1,000 members, Trikone is a regular at Sydney's Mardi Gras Parade
- This club is an offshoot of Trikone San Franscisco
In 2007, a bunch of friends sat around a dining table and pooled $100 each to start an organisation for the LGBTQIA+ community from South Asian backgrounds. Since 2010, this group has been represented at the annual Sydney Mardi Gras Parade.
That evening, the group laid the foundation of what is now a 1000-strong community of people from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Mauritius and even Tibet. They call it 'Trikone Australia'.
Year 11 at Mardi Gras
Trikone had its first outing at Sydney's Mardi Gras Parade in 2010.
Sadhana reminisces, “We couldn’t believe till the last moment that it was actually happening. There was a float of the South Asian LGBTQ community at the Sydney Mardi Gras parade! We had actually done it!”
She adds, “not everyone who participated was out in the community, but we wanted everyone to feel equally involved. So, we decided on 'masquerade' as the theme of the first Trikone Mardi Gras float. The masks were a part of the dress. Nobody had to reveal their identity unless they wanted to. We were just happy that we could celebrate ourselves.”
Co-founders Sadhana, Alan, Rupali and others in Trikone Australia had already been through the tough journey of coming out in their respective societal settings and understood how tough the process could be.
Sadhana tells SBS Hindi how the roots of Trikone Australia are connected to San Francisco.
“I had to travel a lot for work to San Francisco. On one such trip, I came to know about Trikone San Francisco, an organisation for the local South Asian LGBT community. I wrote to them and attended a function," she says.
Sadhana remembers the rush and awe of seeing another Sindhi LGBT person for the first time in San Fransisco
“It was amazing. I had never in my life imagined I would meet another person from my community, and here I was, in an all-brown gathering of gay people," she recalls joyfully.
Sadhana returned from San Francisco determined to start a chapter of Trikone in Australia. A chance meeting with the other co-founders at a play was a moment of serendipity for her.
“It was serendipitous! I had just returned from San Fransisco and Alan, Rupali and others were already in talks with Trikone San Fransisco to start an Australian chapter. We joined hands, became friends and started Trikone over a dining table," adds Sadhana.
Home away from home
Many of the co-founders have since moved away from either Sydney or Trikone Australia but Sadhana remembers the first event they had organised together.
“Those were the days when we still had actual discos. You know the kinds where punches were pulled over girlfriends? So, we thought, what could be better than a Bollywood-themed dance night! We hired a venue at University of Technology Sydney, and danced the night away,” recollects Sadhana.
But they weren’t sure if too many people would turn up in attendance.
“We didn’t expect a huge crowd, but you know what? It was jam-packed! The night turned out to be a huge, huge success," she exclaims.
Trikone Australia's journey
Trikone Australia organises multiple cultural programs to engage the South Asian Queer Communities Source: Trikone Australia
With the ball now rolling, Trikone moved over to more serious events like 'Moonlight Stories', where the participants would sit and talk about their lives, or programmes like 'Let’s Talk' where the participants would be encouraged to share their emotions.
“We had many students coming in. Not all of them were out to their families. We made it a point to never shoot or click pictures to maintain their privacy. We wanted Trikone to be a safe space for these students who were still understanding and accepting their sexuality,” Sadhana explains.
This resonates with the theory proposed by noted British scholar Sara Ahmed in her work, Queer Feelings, when she says, "queer gatherings involve forms of activism. The hope of queer politics is that bringing us close to others, from whom we have been barred, might also bring us different ways of living with others."
Over the years, Trikone made it their aim to break away with the guilt and shame that so often surrounds the LGBT community from South Asian countries. Trikone has also connected its members to other organisations like Australia Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACON) and raised awareness around issues like HIV-AIDS.
Sadhana says the central idea of Trikone has always been to create a safe space.
Trikone Australia has been representing the South Asian LGBTQIA+ community at the Sydney Mardi Gras since 2010 Source: Trikone Australia
She says that people coming from conservative societies, and not meaning conservative in a negative way, always lead a dual life.
"One, in which they abide by the rules of society, family and keep up with the façade of the heteronormative life. The other, that they lead with their friends and partners, where they can be themselves, express their identity and not be threatened about it," explains Sadhana.
At trikone Australia, Sadhana believes members can follow whatever principles, faith, and beliefs they want to and embrace their identity.
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