First Encounters
In the audio clip below, Dr. Anil Mohin recounts the story of placing an ad in Frontiers magazine, a biweekly free publication that catered to Southern California gay communities. He hoped to find a husband. Instead, he got a call from Mushtaque, a founding member of Satrang, who had seen his ad, recognized a fellow South Asian, and invited him to their next scheduled event. He attended – and that is where he met his partner of 30+ years. Dr. Mohin’s story is one of many that illustrate the critical role of magazines as sites of connection and encounter before the age of the internet. This story also illustrates the labor of forming a group like Satrang and the effort required to find new members. Rashmi Choksey, like Dr. Mohin, recounts how she was also invited into the Satrang family through personal connection.
In the audio clip below, Dr. Anil Mohin recounts the story of placing an ad in Frontiers magazine, a biweekly free publication that catered to Southern California gay communities. He hoped to find a husband. Instead, he got a call from Mushtaque, a founding member of Satrang, who had seen his ad, recognized a fellow South Asian, and invited him to their next scheduled event. He attended – and that is where he met his partner of 30+ years. Dr. Mohin’s story is one of many that illustrate the critical role of magazines as sites of connection and encounter before the age of the internet. This story also illustrates the labor of forming a group like Satrang and the effort required to find new members. Rashmi Choksey, like Dr. Mohin, recounts how she was also invited into the Satrang family through personal connection.
Curators
Aziz Sohail is a Pakistani-born curator and writer whose research and resultant projects honor and recognise the power of queer & feminist collectivity, sociability, joy and wayward encounter. They are currently a PhD Candidate in Curatorial Practice at Monash University, Australia.
Alexis Bard Johnson is the Curator at the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries. She oversees the exhibitions, programs, and art collection at one of the largest repositories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer materials in the world. She most recently curated Looking for Lesbians, Six (Linear) Feet and the online exhibition Safer at Home. She holds a PhD in Art History from Stanford University and a BA from Princeton University.