Mumbai-based illustrator Sanika Dhakephalkar has a chock-a-block schedule this weekend. She has flown to Bengaluru to attend the Gender Bender festival curated by Sandbox Collective, a creative services organisation, in association with Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan. As the name suggests, the event aims to showcase new works of art around gender and encourage conversation around taboo subjects. The 23-year-old is one of the grantees chosen from a pool of entries. While discussing the fest over the phone, Dhakephalkar casually throws in a nugget of information. "I love a pair of loose, comfortable anti-fit jeans and shirt. And, that's what I'm wearing." In ordinary conversation, her choice of outfit would have never cropped up, because, well, how does it matter? Unless we're discussing a fashion event. But, if you were to ask Dhakephalkar, clothes matter. "For a person who does not conform to the binary idea of gender, it matters all the more. The thing is, clothes carry gender connotations, and when you challenge that, you are questioning societal norms." To drive home the point, she has created an interactive sticker zine, The Rainbow Book, that explores the relationship that trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people share with their clothes. The book will be unveiled at the festival.

As somebody who is exploring her sexuality, Dhakephalkar wants to loosen the conversation on what people should wear or shouldn't. Her work is essentially an activity book in two forms. The first part invites the reader to be a part of the discourse. It comes with stickers (that look like clothes) embedded with magnets, in which the reader can dress up the person the way they want. "Each artwork is situational. Let's say, I've presented a wedding scenario and given four options of clothing. You, as a reader, can choose what you think they ought to wear. The idea is to directly interact with the artwork," explains Dhakephalkar. In the second part, the person featured gets a voice. Here, they discuss what they would want to wear as opposed to what others think. In doing so, they also share their journey.