I Just Attended A Dolly Parton Drag Tribute In Mumbai, India, And It Was Honestly The Most Incredible Thing I've Ever Seen

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As we all know, the iconic singer Dolly Parton passed away on 26th August, at the age of 80. The legendary singer and songwriter was known for her country music with evergreen hits like "Jolene", "9 to 5", and "I Will Always Love You".

Her entire career was defined by love, sympathy, and unbounded kindness. She was known for her philanthropy and advocacy for education, healthcare, disaster relief, and especially the LGBTQ+ community. In an interview with Andy Warhol in 1984, she said, "To me, people are people…Many of my friends are gay, male, and female. I don’t judge people. I don’t care what people do in their bedrooms, and people shouldn’t care what I do in mine.” She was a steadfast advocate for the queer community, and her passing was devastating news for many.

But if you thought that Dolly Parton's legacy is confined to the U.S., you'd be wrong—her influence went all the way to the other half of the world, too. Here's proof: An Indian nightclub hosted a tribute to Dolly Parton last weekend in the most fitting way: a drag performance. It was an eventful night that was truly something special.

Kitty Su, one of the few open and proud LGBTQ+ forward nightclubs in Mumbai, is a crowd favorite that hosts events that celebrate the community often. As I walked in to the venue, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw—men and women in a range of polos, crop tops, fishnet leggings, and black shirts, mingling about. So welcoming was the place that you would not care about gender, when you could see a whole lot of ~personality~. My plus one (my sister) and I were welcomed with a quote that was quite apt for the night:

These words remind me of what Roxy Versace, one of the drag performers of the night, remembers about Dolly Parton's flawlessness in Hannah Montana: "One thing that I remember from Dolly's iconic dialogue is that she was saved from an accident because her head had so many extensions that it protected it. It was a helmet. And right now I have like 10,000 fucking pins in my head. So nothing can hurt this. You know, nobody is coming for this shit."

As the room started to fill up and the crowd start to feel the night, I noticed how this club filled with South Asian queers felt freeing in a manner I’ve never known. While India has taken a step forward in acknowledging its LGBTQ+ community—especially its trans community—it is more often known for taking two steps back. There isn't as much acceptance as the community would like, which is why spaces like Kitty Su are so important. No one paid attention to a couple passionately making out by the wall, or to the one man dancing by himself. I could see that people were really just themselves.

In the midst of making conversation with some of the folks at the bar, one very enthusiastic guest decided to share stories of his time at the club, and my, were they entertaining. I won't go into detail because they got very R-rated, very fast—but listening to such raw conversations about sexuality and relationships was exhilarating. Drag queens, Dolly Parton, and gossip about someone's sex life? Sign me up.

Arko Sinha, brand manager at Kitty Su said about the evening: "Kitty Su’s new direction is to become the most LGBTQ, the queerest nightlife brand in the country. And you know, we have expanded our horizon. We are looking at things that are not essentially queer or not like somebody who has not come out as queer, but where the queer culture drives its inspiration from. And that is where Dolly Parton has been essential to a big generation of queer community. And her passing away was, of course, a big hit. This was one generation of artists who led the coming out of so many gay men back in the time."

As I made my way through the club, Betta Naan Stop, one of India's most celebrated drag artists, spoke to me about the Dolly Parton's influence on the Indian queer community: "I think Dolly has a universal bond with each and every queer child in the entirety of the globe. It's a double-sided thing, because it's India, we're not aware of the classic Hollywood scene. So there are still a lot of queer people who are finding it out. And us as drag queens, we're doing a show to actually educate the kids like that."

The show started with the host, Zeesh (another iconic Indian drag performer), who commanded the room in a way that I couldn't help but be in awe of. About Dolly Parton, Zeesh said: "One of the things that she said is if she were not a woman, she'd be a drag queen. And that itself connects all us drag artists together. The power and the reach that she had and the way she used it for the queer folks, for education, for AIDS awareness—so much, right? And I think that's what true divas do. You're not just putting on glamor and shaking your titties and ass, but you're actually doing the work—God's work. And that's what Dolly did."

I rushed to catch a glimpse of Dame Imfala's performance of Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball. And it was absolutely fierce.

Then we had Lush Monsoon and Betta Naan Stop grace the stage with iconic songs "Jolene" and "9 to 5"—and the crowd went ballistic.

And then, Roxy Versace performed on Miley Cyrus' Prisoner and absolutely slayed!

The performances, along with the outfits, brought the South Asian version of Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus to the stage. Everyone—straight and queer—enjoyed the other's company and soaked in all the campy personas of the performers that night. While I did not stay till the very end, I still couldn't comprehend all of the things that happened that night. Meeting new people, hearing stories that felt like they could only happen in the movies, and witnessing performances honoring a legendary singer from a different country—the scope of it all was mind blowing.

The conversations, the confidence, and the respect for Dolly were unlike anything else I've seen in a room, and I wish every club in India would mirror the same—just like Dolly Parton would’ve wanted. Rest in power, Dolly! Queens halfway across the world are making you proud.

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