In a backstage dressing room, two drag artists gave each other a final touch-up between posing for selfies.The star of the evening was 19-year-old Nitish Anand, aka Tish, performing for the first time in his drag persona—”Shabnam Be-Wa-Fa". Shabnam for his school teacher and her beautiful saris, bewafa to sass it up. Her stage was Delhi’s upscale queer-friendly club, Kitty Su, and she was introduced by prominent drag queen Betta Naan Stop, who is also her drag mother.
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The concept of an aspiring drag queen turning to a more established queen for guidance, support and makeup tips gained popularity in the Indian scene via RuPaul’s Drag Race. The mentor-apprentice relationship is celebrated among artists learning the tricks of the trade.
"I don't follow American drag shows," said Anand, an online intern at the queer-friendly resource group Nazariya. "For me, it was Betta, and her drag sisters Lush Monsoon and Kushboo. I was inspired by them. Luckily, they took me in. They have taught me everything."
Anand began dressing in drag for LGBTQ+ awareness events. He met Betta, aka Prateek Sachdeva, a 25-year-old professional dancer and choreographer from Noida at one such event. True to her name, Betta has been unstoppable since her first packed performance last year, at a post-Pride Parade party at Kitty Su.
The two have been inseparable since they met. “It's like any other relationship between a mother and daughter—we care for each other, the mother looks out for the daughter," Sachdeva said.Anand, who after his May 3 debut is the youngest drag queen currently performing in India, said "I am constantly learning from Prateek, he looks out for me. When I first met him, I saw that there was no resemblance between Betta and Prateek, and that was so awe-inspiring.”
"At his age, I was a mess,” said Sachdeva, who introduced Anand to makeshift green rooms, last-minute bookings, and costume troubleshooting. Anand was originally inspired by his favourite American comedy series star Hannah Montana, played by pop-singer Miley Cyrus. He loves that she is two different personalities at once. He added that drag lets him celebrate the “little bit of femininity in me.”
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"Betta helped me realise my longing while teaching me the most important lesson of performance-based art: ‘if we are performers, we need to please strangers’."
Anand lost his mother at a young age. He reflected that "Shabnam has a deep soul. While in drag, I resemble a touch of my mother's face and a little bit of Betta's hair—and that is truly me."The two plan to produce some mother-daughter performances to showcase their relationship. They are leaning towards some iconic numbers by ABBA, and we can’t wait.
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