Delhi Queer Day Out

Wander through the heart of Old Delhi - where love wore many names, desire hid in poetry, and saints
walked naked in protest. We trace the queer pulse of this city: through courts, ghazals, tombs, and
streets that still remember.

What makes Delhi queer?
This walking tour explores the city through stories often left out of history books. Beginning in the heart
of Old Delhi, we uncover histories of love, identity, faith, and resistance that have shaped the city for
centuries.
As we move through its historic lanes, we discuss Mughal emperors who wrote poetry for the men they
loved and the influential khwajasaras who held positions of power in royal courts. At a historic place of
worship commissioned by a trans person in the Mughal era, we explore how queer desire found
expression in Urdu poetry, often hidden in plain sight.
At the shrine of Sarmad Shaheed, the mystic executed for defying religious and social norms, we reflect
on how queerness has long been intertwined with truth-telling and dissent. We also examine how
British colonial laws transformed once-accepted identities and relationships into criminal offences.

Along the way, we pause for biryani and daleem before visiting the tomb of Razia Sultan, Delhi's only
woman ruler, whose life challenged conventional ideas of gender and power. We also explore lesser-
known Sufi spaces that reveal a more inclusive understanding of faith and belonging.
Through stories of poets, saints, rulers, hijras, performers, and rebels, this tour uncovers a Delhi that has
always been shaped by many identities, reminding us that queer histories are not on the margins of the
city- they are woven into its very fabric.