This world is a stage and we, humans, are performers. In my personal project, I
have documented the lives of drag queens in Delhi over a period of two months. My
work encompasses the context of studio portraiture focusing particularly on the
documentation of the process of drag transformation. 
Having watched the show ‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race’ an American reality show, I was keen
to understand what goes behind the scenes in the very act of ‘becoming’ and
‘performing’ drag. ‘Drag’ refers to the wearing of clothing of the opposite gender for
the purpose of entertainment solely. I wanted to go deeper by examining ‘drag’ not as
an outcome but as a process.

I pursued this idea and got in touch with some performers based in Delhi, not only 
wanting to document them but also to be physically part of the experience and their 
lives. The project began when I met Natalya (Vineet) on the busy lanes on Lajpat 
market. I proposed my idea to him, and he was more than happy to be a part of my 
project. Through my collaboration with many performers of drag, the very act of 
performing drag struck me as an act of dissent; an assertion of one’s identity. 
Observing the dynamic transitioning from male to female closely allowed for a stimulating
study of gender from the non-binary perspective.  From every spec of blush to the false
lashes on their eye lids, every moment became a performative act of defiance. How do we
formulate gender in our imagination? How do we perform it as our identity?

I see my project as unfinished records of the Drag community in India and would 
like to extend my body of work along these unexpected interstices of celebration, 
dissent and performance.