Rainbow Voices Mumbai
In the year 2013, Vinodh Philip attended a QAM (Queer Azaadi Mumbai) meeting, a collective of LGBT groups in Mumbai who organize the Mumbai Pride Walk. During the meeting, he met people from The Humsafar Trust and thus began the inception of Rainbow Voices Mumbai.
Vinodh currently lives in Paris. He works as a professional in marketing and communications. As a kid, he loved to play with dolls and high heeled shoes. His cousin sisters would often tease him and tell him that when he gets married, they will gift his wife heels. Vinodh, now whats those heels for himself and they need to be at least 6 inches or above because he loves performing in those. I’ve known him for more than 3 years now. I was auditioned by Vinodh for Rainbow Voices Mumbai’s very first call for choir members and since then it’s been an absolute delight to have him around. This is his story and how he got about starting India’s first LGBT choir.
How was Rainbow Voices Mumbai conceptualized?
I have been singing in my church choir since I was 4 years old. When I moved to Mumbai from Chennai, my mother was keen on me continuing to sing. So, I asked Sibi, a friend of mine (also who was instrumental in founding the choir) if there was a gay-friendly church choir I could join to sing. Sibi at that time was a part of Yaariyan, the youth initiative of Humsafar Trust. Sibi found it funny, “gay-friendly and church”, they don’t go together, he said. He suggested if I could start one. I gave it a thought and said, OK. Let’s do it.
Sibi found it funny, ‘gay-friendly and church’, they don’t go together, He said. He suggested if I could start one.
What is the mission of Rainbow Voices Mumbai and where do you see RVM going?
RVM aims to provide a safe space for queer individuals of the society. With passionate queer individuals who have a musical talent be a part of the Queer movement we wish to break stereotypes and express ourselves (our struggles and fight for freedom, victories and happiness and fun too) through a great range of songs. Keeping diversity in mind, we always try to add an Indian twist by keeping it multi-lingual.
RVM aims to provide a safe space for queer individuals of the society.
We are already plugged into a global network of LGBT choirs around the world – The Pink Singers, Proud Voices Asia and other choirs from around the world. We would love to have more LGBT choirs be formed within our own great country. Each state has music and art that are quite unique to their respective regions. We would be happy to help them start choirs there. It will also give us the opportunity to visit and perform in other Indian cities. Of course, we’re open to any LGBT artist from anywhere in India to come and join or perform with us.
We would love to have more LGBT choirs be formed within our own great country.
Why do you think it’s important to have LGBT presence in art and culture?
I think it is important that LGBT individuals have a right to express themselves through any medium that they are passionate about. That is how we make an equal society. That’s how the society we live in will get sensitized and become aware of LGBT ideas and thoughts through our visibility in art and culture. If anyone who reads or hears about us and other LGBT folk and organisations in the media and news would surely know that they are not alone. They have this huge community of people like them they can reach out to for help, love and support.
Anyone who reads or hears about us and other LGBT folk and organisations in the media and news would surely know that they are not alone.
How do you create awareness about LGBT issues through your music?
Our performances are influenced by Bollywood, Hollywood, Tollywood and range in themes from love, lust, passion, to cries for freedom, equality and the need to be acknowledged as equals. So, we pick love songs, sleazy numbers, happy ones, sad ones, songs that evoke patriotism, unity, happiness, joy, sorrow and such. Performing these songs within and outside our country helps us in spreading awareness about LGBT issues, especially the struggle against an archaic article 377 of our Indian Constitution and its repercussions on the LGBT community.
Performing within and outside our country helps us in spreading awareness about LGBT issues.
How has Rainbow Voices Mumbai created an impact in the LGBT community and society in general?
First of all, RVM is a family. RVM has a very diverse group of men and women from different walks of life, different parts of the country and a few from other countries. Our conductor is from the US. You can consider us like a microcosm of how an ideal India should be. United in the midst of a variety of cultural, socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds. In spite of the diversity, we are a family. We have been able to create awareness about the LGBT community through our music. We also provide an environment for our own choir members to become more confident in their homes and communities about their sexuality and be loved and respected for it.
You can consider us like a microcosm of how an ideal India should be.
What is the one thing you would like everyone to know about Rainbow Voices Mumbai
We are queer and our emotions and life experiences are the same. We’re human as anyone else who love to express ourselves through our music. And yes, I’d like to say it again, we’re a family.
Currently, Vinodh mentors the choir and hence he makes sure he perform with RVM at least once a year. To know more about him, follow him on @vinodhphilip. To know more about Rainbow Voices Mumbai, follow their Facebook Page.