“Namaskara.
My name is S*****, and that is my daughter M***** on the right. No, we don’t feel comfortable about disclosing our identity online as yet, but we promise to do so the next time. I am a master’s graduate in English literature, and my daughter is a rank holder in B.Com. We both have won many certificates for our volleyball, dance and other performances; so yes, we are multi-talented folks.
You will find us near the Vijayanagar traffic signals (Bengaluru) begging, to hang by the string for a living, to make sure we get enough bread and rice to survive on some satisfactory scale. There was no connection between our potential and the reality as I mentioned above, right?
Well, that’s because we are transgender people.
The life of discrimination, disgust, isolation and insensitive exclusion is nothing compared to what you see from the outside. Believe me, it’s nothing. For years, our family has been waiting for a way out, but every opportunity just dissolves, courtesy of our status. But, recently, when my daughter went towards a young man to ask him for 10 bucks, he refused to take out the wallet.
Instead, he handed over a book. He took us to the middle of the footpath to make sure everyone watched, and that there was nothing to be scared or ashamed of. He made us go through one of the stories in the book which deals with the inspiring comeback of five transgender students to show the world that every member of LGBT community has a voice loud enough to make their name heard in the society on equal terms as others.
I was moved, shocked and speechless. After 29 years of being hammered right in the heart with no sort of support or understanding, he was the first non-transgender person to have initiated a handshake and put a smile on my face. ‘Theory of inner voices’, I thank him for gifting us this book.
I told him clearly that we do not want reservations, or loads of money, or even a great house only for us to live in without coming out. All I want is respect, a platform filled with equal rights, availability and accessibility. I want to work in an office sitting next to a man/woman who does not treat me inhumanly, and I really want to drift away from an exclusive society this country is heading towards. He told me not just him, but the current budding generation of his is set to go all guns blazing and make a difference. We will crawl our way into social networking websites with his help, and we hope to get connected to as many people as possible.
There is a very unique & interesting scheme/idea which will come into effect some time later, but all I want to say for now is thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you to you dear youth of this country. Yes, I started to have a small sense of belief from today onwards, and I know for a fact that it will keep increasing as the weeks pass by. I want to be the character ‘Aadil’ from the book too, and I know it’s possible because he taught me to believe day in and out.
A handshake and a book I will never forget, I am overwhelmed and grateful dear Varun.
Here is what our community is most proud of – *clap* *clap * *clap*. We will build our revolution starting with that.”
Transgender people have always been looked down upon in our country. The society still considers them as misfits and aliens and thus they aren’t given an opportunity to study, pursue their careers, or have a family. Left with no other choices, they resort to begging on the streets. Even then, people try to avoid them. The society fails to understand their plight and the endless struggles they go through to secure their position and let their voices be heard. We all must embrace and allow them to progress, giving them equal justice, rights and opportunities. Let us all be like Varun and bring a positive revolution in our country.
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