Two men stand face to face under a rainbow pride flag at a Pride Parade in Guwahati, Assam. One of them wears a plaid shirt with a visible tattoo on their arm, while the other wears a dark shirt with a button reading “Queer Pride.”

The 2023 Pride Parade in Guwahati, Assam. The title story of Aruni Kashyap’s collection, ‘The Way You Want to be Loved’, stands out as a moving queer love story that offers a rare glimpse into intimacy and resistance. It’s particularly powerful in a context where queer individuals continue to live under the weight of repression and invisibility – in a country where same-sex relationships were illegal until as recently as 2018 when the supreme court finally struck down Section 377.IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Aruni Kashyap on stories of queer and displaced lives from Assam: Southasia Review of Books podcast #25

A conversation with the Assamese writer Aruni Kashyap on crafting stories on love, resistance and belonging set against the long shadow of violence in India’s Northeast

Published on:

02 Jun 2025, 5:06 am

Welcome to the Southasia Review of Books Podcast, where we speak to celebrated authors and emerging literary voices from across Southasia. In this episode, Shwetha Srikanthan speaks to the Assamese writer, translator and poet, Aruni Kashyap about his new collection of short stories, The Way You Want to Be Loved (Gaudy Boy, October 2024).

In The Way You Want to Be Loved, we are introduced to characters who are outsiders – immigrants, queer individuals in conservative societies or minorities marginalised in Western and academic spaces – struggling to hold onto their identity while still seeking connection and belonging. They wrestle with repression and the search for personhood in societies where identity is shaped, and often compromised, by forces larger than themselves.

Aruni Kashyap’s collection is also a powerful critique of the broken promises of democracy in both India and the United States. With unflinching honesty and moments of darkness, these stories navigate absurdity, grief and resilience against a backdrop of violence and state repression in Assam and beyond.

This episode is now available on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Let’s keep the conversation going – please share your thoughts on the episode or on Aruni Kashyap’s book. If something resonated with you – or even challenged you – leave us a comment on Youtube or send me an email (shwethas[at]himalmag[dot]com). We promise to read and reply to all of them!

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Episode notes:

The Way You Want to Be Loved: Short Stories by Aruni Kashyap (Gaudy Boy, October 2024)

Short fiction, poetry, and non-fiction by Aruni Kashyap

The ‘secret killings’ of Assam in literature: The violent history of Assam is often considered marginal to the Indian nation, but literature can help readers understand the global implications of this - Amit R Baishya (March 2014, Himal Southasian)

Fragments from a fractured time: Reminiscences on an education money could never buy - Anuraag Baruah (November 2013, Himal Southasian)

Those school-less days - Pankaz K Sharma (July 2010, Himal Southasian)

The persistent risks of love across social norms in India - Ankush Pal, Alfiya Azeem Khan (April 2024, Himal Southasian)

India’s queer politics after Section 377: On the limits of the Supreme Court decision that decriminalised same-sex acts in India - Ian Miller (December 2018, Himal Southasian)

The 25-year-long battle against India’s anti-queer law - Chayanika Shah (September 2018, Himal Southasian)

Inside and Out: New queer writing from Southasia suggests shifts in attitudes since 2009 - Annie McCarthy (January 2014, Himal Southasian)

Indo-Anglian Writing - Nandi Bhatia (August 1999, Himal Southasian)