Love & Resistance: A Queer South Asian Take Over
A Queer South Asian Takeover
Join us at Kensington Palace’s Orangery for an evening of Queer South Asian joy, love and resistance.
Hosted by Sabah Choudrey, Sharan Dhaliwal and Ramanique Ahluwalia, this takeover event will be honouring the lesbian icon Catherine Duleep Singh, a story explored in the current Last Princesses of Punjab exhibition.
The night will include musical, dance, poetry and drag acts by: Nayana Iyer, Amit Chadda, Jay Mitra, Sarjana Singh, DJ Priya and more to be confirmed.
Please note this event is for an 18+ audience and is produced by and for the LGBTQ+ South Asian community and allies. Guests will not have access to Kensington Palace during this event.
See the list of hosts and performers below.
Hosts
Sabah Choudrey (he/they)
An award-winning, reluctant activist on all things trans, brown, and hairy, Sabah co-founded Trans Pride Brighton in 2013, the UK’s first trans pride event.
They have spent a decade working with trans youth at Gendered Intelligence and co-founded Colours Youth Network. Now, they serve as a Director at Middlesex Pride and Vice Chair of Inclusive Mosque Initiative. A qualified psychotherapist, artist wellbeing practitioner, and DEI consultant, Sabah was named on the Diversity Power List 2025 and Attitude 101 2026 Trailblazers.
Their TEDx talk Brown, Trans, Muslim and Proud has 103K+ views, and their book Supporting Trans People of Colour is out now. Interests also include fostering cats and bad selfies.
Sharan Dhaliwal (she/they)
Sharan founded the UK’s leading South Asian culture magazine Burnt Roti, a radical and political platform to engage with histories and safe spaces, while destigmatising topics around mental health and sexuality, amongst others.
She is also the Founder and co-Director of Middlesex Pride, an annual free family friendly event centring and celebrating the unheard LGBTQIA+ community in the largely immigrant Middlesex area. Her debut non-fiction, Burning My Roti, about how her Asian identity and queerness came up against capitalism and white supremacy, came out in March 2022 by Hardie Grant.
Ramanique Ahluwalia (she/they)
Ramanique is an actor, writer and activist of mixed British-Punjabi heritage. Her acting work includes roles in BBC Three’s queer comedy horror Wreck, as well as Amazon’s The Devil’s Hour and Douglas is Cancelled on ITV. Her writing work explores identity; overcoming shame and stigma, owning her queerness and her ever-evolving relationship with her mixed heritage.
Performers
Amit Chadda (he/him)
Amit is a singer-songwriter and social justice activist from South London. Described as ‘folk-soul’, Amit’s music fuses intimate, acoustic guitar, banjo and piano arrangements with stirring, soulful vocals. Through his songs, he shares his journey of self-discovery and identity as a queer, British Indian and tells stories of love, loss, spiritual growth and hope.
Jay Mitra (they/he)
Jay is a British Indian punk poet. They were selected as one of Apples & Snakes’ 40 Future Voices in poetry and were a winner of the Creative Future Writers’ Award. Jay loves to write about desire, family and subculture.
Sarjana Singh (she/they)
Blends sensual movement, contagious energy, and expressive storytelling to lead you on a journey of self-discovery and liberation. Her drag alter ego, Sickandar, mirrors Bollywood’s toxic masculinity and male entitlement—he’s charming, flirty, infectiously energetic, and a closeted sexist who swears he’s super woke!
Nayana Iyer (she/her)
Nayana is a classically trained dancer who has studied bharatanatyam, kuchipudi, mohiniyattam, and ballet. She found Bollywood dance when she moved to London in 2017, and is part of the Bollyqueer performance group. She enjoys combining classical mudras and movements to contemporary music, and particularly focuses on expressing the lyrical meaning of a song. She teaches beginners semi-classical Bollywood classes with Bollyqueer monthly.
Stella Adore (she/her)
Stella is a trans drag artist, a community organiser, DJ, dancer and performer. Her work consists in mixing culture, identity and experiences. Stella is part of the UK ballroom scene – specifically a member of the House of Laveaux.
Rakeem (he/him)
Rakeem is a corporate baddie by day and vogues down by night. He strives to put his community first in every aspect and is a member of the kiki House of Laveaux, walking the categories of performance and runway.
Access information
The Orangery at Kensington Palace is step free and has its own accessible toilet. Access to a wellbeing quiet space will be available for the duration of the event. Photography will take place at this event which will be used for internal reporting and social media.
If you are not comfortable with this please speak to a member of staff on the day of the event.
