The Trans Amendment Bill of 2026 landed on the community and its allies like an unannounced visitor disrupting the peace and slowing the progress that was made so far. Since then, many queer people have been carrying that weight, moving through their days while processing what the legislation means for their futures.
Into that exhaustion steps Kasi Viswanath, an interdisciplinary artiste and practising lawyer who goes by the clown name Siripu Sippai, meaning smiling soldier. Today, Kasi is bringing the community together at Idam, Kodambakkam, for a free clowning workshop, because grief this heavy was never meant to be carried alone.
The workshop draws on CIRCA, the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, a technique developed in the United Kingdom that uses absurdity and play as tools of resistance. The idea is not to mock what is serious but to survive it. “When the state brings a shield, we bring a feather duster,” reads the event description. “When they bring silence, we bring a chorus of kazoos.”
Kasi has spent eight years making interdisciplinary art, and five of those years practising medical clowning in hospitals, childcare institutions, and other vulnerable spaces. They trained at MeDiClown Academy and were mentored by Maya Krishnan, a theatre artiste. Their red nose is made from palmyra seeds, and not plastic. They wear neat clothes and there are no wigs or heavy makeup. “Children are afraid of big wigs and face paint. We make sure we don’t frighten the people we are trying to help,” they say.
This workshop is different from their hospital work. A friend from the queer community asked Kasi why they had never brought clowning to queer spaces. That question became this event. “I just want my community to come and have a space for themselves,” Kasi says.
On the Amendment Bill, Kasi speaks clearly. “It is not an amendment. It is a restructuring to the olden days. The biological testing requirement violates basic fundamental rights. I am much more stressed seeing these changes,” they say.
The workshop will not undo the bill. Kasi does not claim otherwise. What it offers is something smaller and perhaps more immediate, a few hours in which queer people can find their inner clown, play without apology, and remember that joy is not a distraction from the fight. It is part of how the fight continues.
Registration is free and open through the link on the
Instagram account nangalum_nirangalum. Non-Binary N(th)sense: Laughing Louder Than the Law will take place today, 6 pm to 9 pm, at Idam.