Ankit Vengurlekar, Dhiren Borisa, Smita Vanniyar
Today, technology has changed the ways in which we meet, connect and fall in love. This conversation broadly explores the changing landscape of romance and intimacy in the digital age in India as a sociological phenomenon, examining the surge in usage of dating apps during the pandemic.
Ankit Vengurlekar (co-producer of the Love Aaj Kal podcast), Dr Dhiren Borisa (a Dalit queer activist, poet and urban sexual geographer) and Smita Vanniyar ( working at the intersection of gender, sexuality, and technology with a focus on digital rights, holistic digital security, and digital storytelling) discuss evolving modes of cosmopolitan desire and expression in India, and how individuals may be cultivating socially distanced dating etiquettes and more in this new environment.
This event is in collaboration with Bangalore International Centre, (BIC).
Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School
Dr Dhiren Borisa is a Dalit queer activist, poet and an urban sexual geographer. He is currently employed at Jindal Global Law school as an Assistant Professor and is also an honorary visiting fellow at School of Geography, Geology and Environment at University of Leicester, UK.
Dhiren obtained his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on Queer Cartographies of Desires in Delhi. His research engages with sexual mappings and makings of cities from an intersectional and decolonial lens both among queer spaces in India and in diasporic queer worldings.
Managing Editor, LinkedIn News
Ankit Vengurlekar has worked as a science and technology journalist for 15 years and is the host of a successful podcast called Love Aaj Kal, which deals with love, dating and relationships, for over 4 years.
With his unique experience and exposure in the industry, he has witnessed the technological disruption of relationships and dating.
He is the Managing Editor at LinkedIn News and is currently also working on a safe internet habits module for kids.
Project Coordinator, Association for Progressive Communications
Smita works at the intersection of gender, sexuality, and technology with a focus on digital rights, holistic digital security, and digital storytelling. Currently a Project Coordinator at the Association for Progressive Communications, they hold a Masters degree in Media and Cultural Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Based out of New Delhi, India, Smita can generally be found wandering the cyberspace, or hunting for good coffee.
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