Kolhapur: Abhimaan Kolhapur, a Kolhapur-based NGO, held the Rainbow Renaissance Fair at Kolhapur on Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of Supreme Courts decriminalisation of Article 377. The event, serving as a platform for the LGBTQ community members to display their talents, included an array of handicrafts, a seminar addressing critical issues affecting the LGBT community, an experience-narration session, makeup workshop, a booth dedicated to issue transgender ID cards and a performance by community members.Vishal Pinjani of Abhimaan Kolhapur said, We are different, and thats okay. Our gender and sexuality may not align with mainstream society, but that doesnt make us wrong. Prominent speakers such as author and translator Sonali Navangul, transgender community representative Yashshree Kulkarni, and Humsafar Trust Mumbai member Sudhanshu Latad, spoke on the future aspirations of the ongoing LGBT movement at the seminar. Transgender men and women also received an overwhelming response from the audience when they shared their live experiences. Internationally renowned makeup artist Kanchan Chandwani conducted a makeup workshop which opened up new opportunities for many LGBT members. The fair also had a representative from the Election Office of the government of Maharashtra encouraging transgenders to vote and a special booth issuing ID cards to them.Community members ended the fair with an entertaining performance, promoting the message of inclusion of the LGBT community in mainstream society. The event was also organised jointly with The Humsafar Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO, and Dorf Ketal, a Mumbai-based chemical manufacturing and supply company.

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