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Sam Leong Road is a road in Little India. The street is off Jalan Besar, running parallel to Syed Alwi Road. I always wondered why the road is named Sam Leong Road - after all, the only Sam Leong I know about is the one that used to be a chef at a well-known group of Chinese fine dining restaurants. He is famous, but still alive and way too young to have a street named after him. However, one must remember that in Singapore, many of the streets named after Chinese persons do not include their surname. So Sam Leong Road is not named for Sam Leong the chef, but for Ong Sam Leong (1857 - 1918), a Peranakan business tycoon.

Prominent human rights lawyer Ravi Madasamy looked unusually serene and relaxed on a Sunday morning as he settled comfortably on a wide beige sofa at a local café.

A refreshing sight compared to the smartly groomed, straight faced professional in typical executive wear that members of the public have come to be well-acquainted with. Even so, his natural command of presence is hard to miss.

At the end of this month writers and scholars of Tamil literature from around the world will congregate in Singapore for the World Tamil Writers Conference, being held in conjunction with the annual Singapore Writers Festival. With the theme ‘New Perspectives, New Paths’, the conference is unprecedented in its scope and scale, a formal recognition of just how important the modern form of this literature has become.

The idea of meeting Kumar came with many preconceptions. It was not fair, but unavoidable, given that he is the most famous drag queen in Singapore. Will he be too much to handle? Will his media saaviness yield elusive answers? Will I hit a raw nerve given my lack of exposure to the norms of the drag world?

All these trepidations tagged along with me till the interview began. "Hi I'm Kumar and I'm a comedian." He introduced himself, almost decidedly deadpan. I understood then that this will not to be a conversation with a larger than life persona after all.

"There is a real person, under the dress and the makeup," he explained at the 3 Monkeys Cafe, after his regular weeknight show there. Who I saw is someone who has been through the figurative "slings and arrows" of time but emerged with a cool head on his shoulders and a positivity toward life which he seems eager to share. That is not to say there is no fire in the belly left for this icon in Singapore's cultural tapestry. He did not mince his words when it came to opinions on the drag and gay communities here and why it is important to change from within as much as without.

Amidst the noble and essential fight for the civil rights and the voice of the gay community, it was refreshing to learn about the deeper issues from someone who has been through enough to know . Let us not forget that being gay is just one aspect of a person's life, and true equality comes from seeing the person for everything he or she is. True equality also comes from recognising one's right to be and to own and value that right, in spite of the prejudice that may come from unevolved minds or even an unevolved law. That is the outlook that will set people free from their insecurities and emotional baggage. It is an outlook that transcends all predispositions.

Kumar's book, "Kumar - From Rags to Drag", is in stores now, hear his thoughts about it and other topics in the video below.