A silent protest: This 80-foot-tall mural in Kolkata shows masculinity through the transgender person’s gaze

It took 3 months for the team led by queer artist Nandini Moitra ambassador of the Fearless Collective to find a spot for their artwork as many denied them space after hearing the theme.

Written by Somanjali Das

Art has always been a staple of Kolkata, the cultural capital of India. The city’s streets are adorned with vibrant mural artworks that convey stories, messages, and add colour to the urban landscape, augmenting its historic significance and intellectual heritage. Artists paint these murals, often hidden in plain sight, to leave their mark on the city through their work.

The newest addition to the artscape in Kolkata is an 80-foot-tall work on trans men on the walls of the Topcat CCU, a restaurant/performance venue on EM Bypass. The mural captures the softness in trans masculinity – a man combing another guy’s hair, a man holding a baby with a surgery scar on his body.

It is not only visually striking but also a silent protest that highlights and triggers important conversations about the LGBTQ community’s empowerment in the country.

The artwork has been painted by a group of trans people led by queer artist Nandini Moitra of Fearless Collective. Started by artist Shilo Shiv Suleman in 2012, Fearless Collective aims to create public art interventions featuring women and underrepresented communities worldwide. Moitra says she wanted to “redefine masculinity through a trans lens, so I decided to work with the transmen in Kolkata.”

“There was a workshop held with these men, where we spoke about what gives us fear and makes us fearless. They came up with the ideas, we took pictures and came up with images ourselves for the artwork,” she tells indianexpress.com.

Moitra adds that one of the artists associated with the work came up with the image of ‘trans fatherhood’ as seen on the mural. They wanted to talk about masculinity from a trans person’s gaze rather than the idea of masculinity which is already built in society.

“It took us almost three months to find a place, thankfully Meghdut (owner of TopCat CCU) was kind enough to give us the space. He told us he would love to have an image on the wall and also supported us throughout the journey,” Moitra shares. She adds that it was really hard for them to find a place as people were transphobic and “denied us space for the artwork after hearing the storyline.”

mural artwork2 (L-R) Queer artist Nandini Moitra & Project manager and assistant artist Wree lettering ‘Chilam, achi, thakbo’ in the mural. (Photo credit: Jeet Sengupta)

Meghdut Roychowdhury says the walls now stand as a testament to the commitment to inclusion, diversity, and a world where everyone can express themselves freely. “I offered these walls of Offbeat CCU for the mural not just to decorate, but to elevate. Each brushstroke tells a story of resilience, of transcending boundaries, and of the infinite spectrum of human existence,” he underlines.

Several social and political murals on the streets of Kolkata also serve as powerful statements. The tradition of mural art in Kolkata dates back decades, but it has witnessed a renaissance of sorts in recent years. The power of murals transforms the city’s public spaces into outdoor art galleries. These larger-than-life artworks breathe life into the otherwise mundane walls, turning Kolkata into a haven for art enthusiasts.

Talking about the comments on the art piece, Moitra says, “A reel of the artwork was posted online… People commented saying, ‘Oh I can see a man holding a baby’ and they were laughing about it. They think men cannot hold babies, men cannot be caring, the masculinity that we have in our society is so small, limited and does not allow men to feel. Masculinity can be anything that we wish it to be,” she asserts.

Arpit Shil, 33, one of the artists of the mural artwork, says, “Through the art piece we wanted to show the difference between a man and a trans man. A man or trans man who can also show care, take care or look after babies and can also work outside.” Shil says this mural is also dedicated to those people who fear identifying themselves as trans and aims to help them overcome their fear. “This artwork is our silent protest. Transgender people are also part of society. Treat us like normal human beings.”

The Bengali lettering in the mural artwork says: We are here, we were there and will be here always (chilam, achi, thakbo).

Akash, who was also part of the artist team, said, “I cannot express the emotions that I felt in words…This is the first mural in Kolkata or India perhaps which talks about the visibility of trans men in the country. We want to do more such artworks in the near future, we just need opportunities.”

 “You will never see trans men protesting or doing a rally like other people in our community, we trans men often fail to mark our presence in the place we live in…This artwork will mark our presence in society,” he added.

Moitra, whose personal artworks mostly include self-portraits, says, “Every time I paint myself it feels very… Because I try to remember myself while painting. It is a process of remembering myself. We do live in a world where there are people who want to erase us, which is why I paint self-portraits.”

Courtesy : TIE

Note: This news piece was originally published in theindianexpress.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Right