About: Kaushalya Bannerji

Kaushalya Bannerji (born Calcutta) is a Canadian poet, visual artist and occasional essayist. A resident of Toronto since the 1970s, Kaushalya Bannerji is the daughter of sociologist, philosopher and professor Himani Bannerji and professor, translator and writer, Manabendra Bandyopadhyay (1938-2020). In her pioneering article "A Lotus of Another Color", she delved into the cultural complexities sexuality adds to one's sense of self, especially coming from a socially conservative society. To Bannerji, this dilemma is enhanced by the willingness of many lesbians of the global South to keep their cultural identity and roots, while confronting jaundiced/misogynist and lesphobic opinions that their societies may have about sexuality.