I've been insanely busy for the last week because of a conference I'm organizing on women's sexuality in India. It's taking me away from my roti responsibilities and depriving me of sleep. So I figured I'd take advantage of my posting privileges to engage in a little self-promotion and some ranting. First off, the self-promotion for those of you who are in the area and are interested in attending:

PRAKRITI FOUNDATION
THE THINK TANK
Stree: Sharira: Exploring Sites of Women's Sexuality Today
March 16th, 17th, and 18th

Locations:
Anokhi: Old #47 (New #85), Chamiers Road, R A Puram, Chennai-600028
Alliance Francaise de Madras: #24, College Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai-600006

As an organization committed to exploring new discourses in the politics of gender, sexuality, and cultural practice, the Prakriti Foundation is proud to announce a three-day conference on women and sexuality in India, dedicated to the late Chandralekha. Titled Stree Sharira: Exploring Sites of Women's Sexuality in India Today, this conference-- based in Chennai--will present the work of academics, artists, and activists in an attempt to initiate a multi-valanced dialogue on the experience, performance, representation and regulation of women's sexuality in India. Registration is free, but space is limited. We invite all interested people to register and save a seat for themselves!

Our list of confirmed speakers and performers include: Kirtana Kumar, Vani Subramaniyam, Alka Pande, Ruth Vanita, Deepa Vasudevan, Bindu Menon, S. Anandhi, Namita Malhotra, Mangai, Nitya Vasudevan, Padma Govindan, Suneetha Achyutha, Nalini Jameela, Mira Mary, Sushila Ravindranath, Geeta Ramaseshan, members of The Banyan, Sadanand Menon, Kuttirevathi, Kanimozhi, Salma, Malathy, Sukirtharini, Sandra Chatterjee, Sumathi Murthy and members of the queer collective LesBIT, and the Sakthi Kalai Kuzhu all-woman tappattam troupe.

Lectures start at 10:00 AM, and performances at 7:00 PM. All of the panel and lecture sessions, as well as the evening performances on Saturday and Sunday, will take place at Anokhi on Chamiers Road. With regards to Friday evening's performances, Sakthi Kalai Kuzhu and Sandra Chatterjee are scheduled for the Alliance Francaise on College Road. Please e-mail Padma Govindan at Padma.P.Govindan@gmail.com to register and get a schedule. This is going to be an exciting event--certainly the first of its kind in Chennai--and we would be delighted to have you!

Okay, now the rant:

I've been working on this conference since September and I've become increasingly uncomfortable with the venue the Prakriti Foundation has chosen for the lectures and panels. Anokhi is a really posh cafe and boutique, and I have the feeling that this location is going to end up excluding a number of activists who have a wealth of experience in working with women's sexuality but might be uncomfortable in such an elitist space. Prakriti has done a number of events at Anokhi in the past--and the venue large space for lectures and is very happily situated among trees and soft lighting--but it doesn't seem appropriate to an event of this nature. This conference is the first of three that I'll be organizing for them (the other two will be on masculinity and the third gender), so I welcome any suggestions for more inclusive and welcoming venues in Chennai.