QTAM

QTAM began as an in-house peer support group gathering during the inception of Mist. The first meeting was held on July 24^th 2016. Ram remembers the first ever QTAM as,

It was the first support group meeting for the LGBTQ+ community in Pune we did as Mist which saw 6 people. Though the number was less, community started coming to later meeting as they got to know more it.

The whole idea was to create a platform where queer individuals can share their stories and struggles to support one another, as this is something we miss in our daily interactions with family and non-queer friends. Queer people almost mostly struggle alone, emotionally and psychologically. QTAM focuses on self-equipping participants through shared learning and discussions on various topics related to gender, sexuality, society, politics, and personal experiences. QTAM began as an alternate weekend meet, but was affected by the pandemic for the last 2 years. Shyam says,

“We are restarting our QTAM rituals with discussions, movie screenings, potluck lunches and chai-time discussions, because we firmly believe in creating a safe space for queers and allies to come, be themselves and help each other grow. We as queers have to make our own family circles. QTAM is a place that can happen.”

You can find updates of our upcoming QTAM on our social media pages, Telegram channels or below.