Vichitra: In Order to Become, directed by Misha Chowdhury

In Episode Four, In Order to Become, Carnatic classical music is the shapeshifting protagonist. Drawing upon their own queer readings of ancient Tamil stories, poetry, and musical forms, a group of artists in the diaspora create new Carnatic compositions about desire and transformation. A king longs to be an awkward bird. A young girl prays to be changed into an old woman. The violin reaches toward the human voice, and the voice reaches toward the drum.

In Order to Become is a queer, multidisciplinary exploration of Carnatic classical music bringing together an impressive ensemble of collaborators from theater, music, visual art, and radio: Shayok Misha Chowdhury Roopa Mahadevan Shiv Subramaniam Rajna Swaminathan Sruti Sarathy Jeremy S. Bloom Emily Oliveira Kameron Neal

VICHITRA is a word that, in many South Asian languages, means multiply. Its definitions include “strange”, “weird”, “grotesque”, the opposite of “art”, but also “striking”, “flamboyant”, “many-colored”, “miscellany”, “heterogeneous”, and “diverse”. In Episode One, An Anthology of Queer Dreams, we eavesdrop on LGBTQ+ South Asian folx from across the world through anonymous, intimate, intricate recollections of their dreams. Episode Two, Englandbashi, is a contemporary ghost story about taking reincarnation (too?) seriously. In Episode Three, The Other Other, a queer interracial couple attempt to situate their relationship in a larger constellation of Black and Desi encounters.