WHO ARE AGENTS OF ISHQ?
Agents of Ishq is a multi-media project about sex, love and desire. We make cool videos, beautiful images, mazedaar comics, maps and podcasts, to create both informational material as well as a space for many different experiences of intimacy and desire, which are reflected in our personal stories section.
Also…
Agents of Ishq believes in the power of art, creativity and expressiveness, to change the world, and to help create a culturally meaningful, pleasure-positive, inclusive, enabling and celebratory language of sex and sexuality, not one which fosters shame and negativity.
You can find us everywhere conversations are happening: Our website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
We also do workshops, partnerships ,collaborations and branded content - you can find out more here.
WHAT IS THE MISSION OF AGENTS OF ISHQ? (IT’S NOT A SECRET MISSION, WE CAN TELL YOU THAT!)
We wear cooling glasses at night, bedazzled pants on Wednesday mornings and Fridays are for fruit-print chaddis. Errr… no. Actually, we have no uniform. We aren’t into uniforms because there are no pants that are one-size-fits-all and no chaddis that are one-pattern-speaks-for-all. We can’t tell you what’s good or bad, normal or abnormal, yummy or gross.
Through the media we create and the stories we collect our mission is:
- Co-create an inclusive, pleasure-positive, intersectional perspective on sexuality along with people and audiences
- Co-create a culturally relevant language for helpful conversations around sexuality, which can express the pleasure, pain, doubt, exploration, resilience, discovery, mutuality and care of people’s lived sexual journeys.
- Normalise comprehensive sexuality education and make it a part of everyone’s education
- Destigmatise conversations about sexuality and link them to everyday life
On Agents of Ishq, people can read, watch and explore a world of different understandings of love, sex and desire so that they can make up their own minds or even accept being confused for a while.
WHAT IS NOT AGENT OF ISHQ’S MISSION?
We don’t lecture people.
We don’t bore people to death - #BoreMatKarYaar is our motto.
So is #FillTheWorldWithLove
WHAT’S THE SECRET TO OUR ISHTYLE?
We make a slow-boiled gravy of information, the tadka of art and popular culture and the depths of people's experiences and emotional insights to create an array of delicious offerings. We care about the environment - the cultural environment, so our work comes out of a lot of research, conversations and collaborations with teachers, sex educators, doctors, activists, youth groups, artists and our readers from all over India. We also collaborate with NGOs, companies, collectives and individuals to talk about topics related to sex, love and rights.
Behind the scenes, we have a talented, serious team of creators and thinkers - full-time Agents ready to respond to any calls (or moans) for more.
WHY DID WE BECOME AGENTS OF ISHQ?
We often think about sex alongside violence, disease, moral policing and its other dangers. So we began to wonder - is there something missing? Hidden away between two kissing roses? Which is why out of the flower bushes we come, with nanga bums and nanga hearts, to talk about pleasure, pain, desires, fears, self-love, self-hate, and the many dimensions of our lives, so that we can have open-hearted and open-minded conversations about sex.
WHO IS AGENTS OF ISHQ FOR?
Agents of Ishq is for everybody - all ages, all stages of life, love and desire, anyone who believes, pyaar bina chain kahan re?
BUT IT IS ESPECIALLY HELPFUL FOR…
- Young people looking for information on sexuality, sexual health, relationships, emotions and the world of desire
- Sexuality educators who want material to help in their work and to deepen their understanding as well as SRHR advocates and organizations
- Mental health workers, therapists and counsellors
- Those who are searching for work that centres the experiences of young people, women, queer persons and other marginalized identities
- Parents, educators, aunts and uncles, older siblings - and everyone who has young people in their lives, that they would like to help
- Researchers, journalists, writers and artists who want to expand the discussion on gender, sexuality and desire.
Everybody!
HOW CAN YOU USE THE MATERIAL?
Agents of Ishq materials come under a Creative Commons licence. They are free to use in some circumstances - but you can write to us for enquiries and permissions.
MEET THE TEAM
PAROMITA VOHRA (Founder, Creative Director)
Paromita is a filmmaker, writer and generally curious cat who believes in the politics of art, the beauty of intelligence, the poetry of work, and in checking out the cutting edge, creating and growing spaces for honest reflection, fearless experimentation, collaboration and friendship as a way to change the world.
JUSTIN VELIEL (Accounts Manager)
Justin, a driven Individual with a Graduate Degree in Commerce manages the control of Financial policy, and the formation of
planning, helping in the preparation of the Budget, Cost Control, handling Accounting Books, Prevention of Errors and Frauds, including Management Tasks.
HANSA THAPLIYAL (Translation Supervisor)
Hansa edits and looks over the Hindi translations for Agents of Ishq, she occasionally translates some pieces she particularly loves. She is also a film maker, writer, teacher and doll maker.
DEBASMITA DAS (Creative Associate)
Debasmita is the Creative Associate at Agents of Ishq. Studied to be an animator, became AOI ki designer and loves working with all the stories people trust AOI with. When not doing content and design work, she can be found chasing cats and everything queer.
ANSHUMAAN SATHE (Junior Graphic Designer)
Anshumaan, is a Junior Graphic Designer at Agents of Ishq. They are a queer particle hoping to become a crazy cat lady by age twenty-five. Most of their work looks at the intersection of the personal and the political through the lens of gender and queerness. They do illustration, graphic design, and listen to 90's ke bollywood rom com gaane and obscure drag queen music in their free time.
