RANGBIRANGI
a home for south asian queer people — come as you are, family's already here.
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be honest, no one's grading this
how are you feeling today?
skip this →
fair enough. here's a bit of everything
movies & shows
- Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
- Badhaai Do
- Kapoor & Sons
- Evening Shadows
- Joyland
- Fire (1996)
- Margarita with a Straw
songs
- Raveena — dreamy R&B with unmistakably desi textures
- Vivek Shraya — "Part-Time Woman"
- Somaya — indie singer-songwriter, queer & south asian through and through
poetry
- Akhil Katyal — contemporary queer Indian poet, writes in Delhi
- Kazim Ali — South Asian-American, queer, Muslim, gorgeous stuff
- Vikram Seth — yes, that Vikram Seth. "Two Lives" is worth your time
if you want to read more about the mental health side of things
- "South Asian and Queer: Navigating Mental Health" — South Asian Therapists
- "Sad, Brown, and Gay: Queer and Trans Mental Health in the South Asian Diaspora" — INTO
- "Can Love Be Shackled? Working with Queer & Trans South Asian Folks" — Asian Mental Health Collective
- South Asian Sexual & Mental Health Alliance (SASMHA) — a whole resource hub, worth a look
and just in case you need it
- DeQH — Desi LGBTQ+ Helpline for South Asians
908-367-3374 · Thu & Sun, 5–7pm PT / 8–10pm ET
free peer support — not a crisis line, and they won't involve the police - Nazariya (India)
+91 72910 12585 · Mon–Fri, 11am–6pm
queer feminist peer support & counselling referrals - The Trevor Project
call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678
24/7 crisis support for LGBTQ+ youth - 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US)
call or text 988 · 24/7 - Trans Lifeline
1-800-604-5841 · run by trans & BIPOC community members - Crisis Text Line
text HOME to 741741 · 24/7
most accurate numbers & hours we could find — double check if you're outside the regions they cover.
actually, let me pick a mood
yay!! let's celebrate that a little
here's a completely biased recommendation:
movies & shows
- Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga
- Badhaai Do
- Kapoor & Sons
- Evening Shadows
- Joyland
songs
- Raveena — dreamy R&B with unmistakably desi textures
- Vivek Shraya — "Part-Time Woman"
- Somaya — indie singer-songwriter, queer & south asian through and through
stuff to poke around in
that's fair. be as mad as you need to be
sometimes you just need to hit something. tap it.
or type it out — nobody sees this but you:
and if you ever want to put it somewhere...
there are people already doing something with this exact anger. no pressure, just leaving it here in case you're curious:
- Nazariya (Delhi) — queer feminist advocacy & organising
- Humsafar Trust (Mumbai) — rights work & community organising
okay. let's slow it down a little
tap the circle, follow it for a few rounds.
a quick grounding trick
tap a dot for each thing you notice. sounds silly. works more than it should.
nice. that's the whole trick.
if you want to actually talk to someone
DeQH runs scheduled peer-support calls for south asian LGBTQ+ folks if the regular Thu/Sun hours don't work for you — numbers are in the low/help tab.
you don't have to carry this by yourself
-
DeQH — Desi LGBTQ+ Helpline for South Asians
· Thu & Sun, 5–7pm PT / 8–10pm ET
free peer support — not a crisis line, and they won't involve the police -
Nazariya (India)
· Mon–Fri, 11am–6pm
queer feminist peer support & counselling referrals -
Naz & Matt Foundation
nazandmattfoundation.org · confidential 1:1 support by request
for LGBTQI+ people (and their parents) from religious or culturally conservative South Asian backgrounds, including Muslim families -
Switchboard LGBT+ (UK)
· every day, 10am–10pm
phone & webchat, run entirely by LGBTQIA+ volunteers -
Trans Lifeline
·
run by trans & BIPOC community members, for trans and questioning peers -
QLife (Australia)
· every day, 3pm–9pm local time
anonymous LGBTIQ+ peer support & referral, phone or webchat -
The Trevor Project
or text START to 678-678
24/7 crisis support for LGBTQ+ youth -
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US)
· call or text · 24/7 -
Crisis Text Line
text HOME to 741741 · 24/7 -
Befrienders Worldwide
befrienders.org · find a local centre
wherever you're reading this from, this directory links to emotional-support helplines in 30+ countries — not LGBTQ+-specific, but a real person, close to home, if nothing else on this list covers you
tap a number to copy it. these are the most accurate numbers & hours we could find — please double check if you're outside the regions they cover.
choose a different mood · or pitch in your opinion
pitch in
a messy pile of stuff we've collected, plus a couple of things that are actually listening. tap around, your vote counts for real.
lgbtq+ resources
crisis lines, coming-out guides, all the practical stuff.
tap to open →Crisis lines, coming-out guides, family resources, know-your-rights info — sorted by country where we've managed it so far.
Honestly, we're two people building this on evenings and weekends. If something's missing, that's not on purpose — tell us and we'll go dig it up.
← backvirtual events
book club, support circles, the occasional chaos.
tap to open →Nothing fancy, mostly just excuses to see each other's faces on a screen:
tap curious? — it's a real, live count of everyone who's tapped it
- queer desi book club — every other thurs
- coming-out support circle — monthly
- ask-a-therapist AMA — quarterly
in your language
tap one and see what happens.
pitch in your opinion
real votes, from real people — tap one to add yours
what do you want more of?
supportive spaces, worldwide
tap wherever you are — just for fun, we're not tracking anything.
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about us
Pranamya Bhat
Texas, USA
Harini S
Tamil Nadu, India
why we made this
A lot of us grew up thinking we had to pick one: be queer, or be South Asian. Like the two didn't fit in the same body. We don't think that's true, so we built a place where they don't have to compete.
That's really it. A spot on the internet for South Asian LGBTQ+ people to find each other, read stories that sound like their own, and get actual help when they need it, no matter where in the world they've ended up.
and now for something completely unnecessary...
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join us
this bit's easy, fill out the form below and we'll take it from there.
Where two worlds meet, and both are whole:
Rang Birangi (it means "colorful" in Hindi and Urdu) exists because too many of us grew up believing we had to choose: our queerness, or our culture. We refuse that false binary.
We preserve LGBTQ+ South Asian stories that might otherwise disappear, break cultural stigma through honest storytelling, and build a community where every identity is celebrated, not despite heritage, but within it.
ready when you are
use this link to join: https://forms.gle/hDfEeYURULR9GYzR6
what happens after you hit submit
You'll usually hear back in a few days with an invite to our group chats.
If modding, running events, or translating sounds like your thing, just say so on the form and we'll reach out!
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partner with us
an orgisation, an artist, a brand that gets it? let's talk.
We're always open to partnerships and collaborations, whether that's another South Asian or queer organisation, an event, a grant, a media collab, or something we haven't thought of yet. If it's good for this community, we want to hear about it.
how it usually goes
Tell us who you are and what you're thinking on the form below. We'll write back, ask some questions, and figure out together whether it's a good fit.
use this link to talk partnerships: https://forms.gle/U9chisgWo1amjTSNA
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stories
real people, real words. some names changed, none of it made up.
“quote”
name · location
tap to read →← back to rang birangi
collabs
good things multiply when you share them. here's who we've been getting into trouble with. tap a card — it flips (and it might celebrate a little).
Bela Chauhan
tap for the story →Photography Collaboration
Bela's lens finds the drama in a quiet moment — moody light, bold color, portraits that feel like stills from a film we didn't know we were in. We've been trading ideas (and probably too many playlists) ever since.
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Shilpa Kancharla
tap for the story →Art Collaboration
Shilpa paints the parts of South Asian queer life that don't usually make it onto a canvas — flower markets, bangles mid-laugh, hands mid-garland. Her work has become some of our favorite visual storytelling.
← back to the frontQueer Desi Social Club
tap for the story →In-Person & Virtual Events
Meetups, virtual hangs, the occasional very chaotic group chat. QDSC throws the gatherings, we help spread the word — and real friendships keep coming out of these rooms.
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Stellar Blooms
tap for the story →Pipe-Cleaner Flowers
Fuzzy pastel blooms twisted from pipe cleaners — peach, mint and lavender petals around a sunny yellow centre. Shaped by hand, so no two are alike.
DM to buy ♡
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Sahana
tap for the story →Desi-Inspired Textile Art
Sahana makes handmade textile pieces inspired by South Asian motifs, memories, and everyday details, bringing a distinctly desi touch to crochet, embroidery, and stitchwork.
← back to the frontand a little bonus, because why not...
think you'd be a fun collab too?
reach out through the partner form on our support page — we'd love to hear the idea.
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interviews
press play, hear it in their own words. more tapes coming soon.
Interview with Sana
a conversation worth the whole runtime
Interview with Inder
a conversation worth the whole runtime
Interview with Jasjit Kang
a conversation worth the whole runtime
know someone with a story worth taping?
tell us about them through our support page.
a tiny game about big feelings
game!
a short little walk through a South Asian childhood — collect a few familiar things, then find your way home.
find your way home
one tiny walk.
a few little things that feel familiar.
welcome home. the light is on, the door is open, and there is a little place waiting for you inside. ♡
collect the little things. reach the house.