Based in Bangalore, Alex Mathew is a 27-year-old content writer at a media firm, and works for a human rights and youth leadership NGO – the Solidarity Foundation. Dubbed India’s most eminent drag artist, Mathew sings, dances, and acts on stage as a beautiful Malayali woman, Mayamma, or Maya – the Drag Queen, and is, indeed, drag royalty. About his form of art, he says, “I’m a performance activist. I have strong causes to fight for, but you won’t see me on the streets with placards. My protests would be on stage, through my art. I enjoy staring into the eyes of those people who look at Mayamma with contempt. I enjoy seeing their discomfort. I love it.”

Mathew discovered musicals in his early teens when his mother introduced him to The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, and Hello Dolly.“I kept watching them over and over again. I realised that that was my goal, you know, my soul was getting attuned to something that I wanted to do. I did a lot of research. That’s when I realised my heart belonged to Broadway — I wanted to be a Broadway performer.”

It took Mathew many hurdles and a long time to come to terms with his own sexuality. Today, he identifies as an out and proud gay man.

“I was constantly wondering if I should make Maya wear a sari. There was also a fear of what people would think. Why is he wearing a sari? Is he planning on joining the Hijra community? Is he a cross-dresser?”

“I recently met a well-known fashion designer. He asked me, ‘OK, so you’re not a cross-dresser?’I said, 'No, I’m not a cross-dresser.’ That is not my identity. Drag queen means, I go on stage and perform as a woman. It’s an art form.”

Mayamma performed for the first time on 10 September, 2014. She has performed at different events since.

“The first time I performed as Maya, I went on stage with very basic makeup. I put some kajal and wore a lipstick – put together very quickly by one girlfriend. I also had this horrible wig. It’s still there at home in one dabba. There are so many saris and accessories in my cupboard; I have all my guy clothes lying out!” “I received a lot of flak for my first performance, but people wanted to see more of it. The audience was from the LGBT community, mostly. The second time I had a performance scheduled, I told my mum, and she went mad. That’s when I came out to them. I always tell people that I think Maya put me out of the closet. I think this second performance was another breaking-out point for me.”

“I started building Mayamma. I also started answering questions. I started these Q & A sessions called ‘Ask Mayamma’, and putting up answers on my page. The next thing I knew, I started getting more and more opportunities to perform. Maya got the chance to perform in a play. Her looks were also changing. I went and bought a new wig. If you've seen Madhuri Dixit in her initial days, she had this wavy sort of hair in Mera Piya Ghar Aaya, O Ram Ji… this literally looked like that. Mayamma got a complete make-over. She became this glamorous lady.”

“How does Alex transition into Mayamma before she goes on stage?” I ask him.

“The day of a performance, I wake up really late. I need my beauty sleep. Then I start by ironing her skirt and her blouse. I enter the transitioning phase then. The moment I reach the venue and start getting my make-up done, I’m already a diva. When I put on my wig, and my whole sari is there, and I’m slipping my feet into my heels – I'm Mayamma. There was a time when as I was Mayamma, and there was a complete blackout for Alex. It was almost like he didn’t exist in those moments.”

Remembering the aftermath of the ruling that shook the LGBT community in India, Mathew comments, “If Section 377 was a person, I’d look them in the eye and say, ‘You’re not going to be around for long. We are going to strike you down. Love is the only way.’ 377 happened in December 2014; I came out in August the same year. If I hadn't have come out before that happened, I probably would have just gone back into the closet and said, ‘This isn’t my thing.’ But I chose to go out.

What angered me even more was when they said we're a minuscule community. Nobody walks around with a banner saying, ‘Hey look, I’m gay!’That is why I tell people they need to come out of the closet and voice their opinions. We need to show them that we are not, in fact, a minority. What's even more absurd is, this law doesn’t just pertain to the LGBT community. It also affects straight people. 377 isn’t here to stay.”

Mathew is hoping to release a bunch of music videos and work on developing a talk show this year. He says his personal focus will be mainly on building Mayamma. “There are a lot of issues I want Mayamma to address. I’m trying to figure a way to get all of that out there through my art.”