We all know of their stories of pain, loss and struggles, but that they also rise above all of it, is not a usual narrative for the society. With Akkai Padmashali receiving the State Rajyotsava Award — the second highest civilian honour in Karnataka — we look at a few from the LGBT community, who have shattered our notions about them. They may not be the representatives of the entire LGBT community, but they do represent hope and transformation.
Akkai Padmashali, social activist
It been a roller-coaster ride for Akkai. From the time she wanted to kill herself to being one of the most powerful voices of the LGBT community, Akkai has come a long way. Born a boy, she “felt like a woman”. She was harassed and sexually abused. Sex work and begging followed. The turning point of her life was joining Sangama, an organisation, which works for sexual minorities. Her fight for the rights of transgenders and their acceptance began at this juncture. She quit Sangama to establish Ondede, another organisation working towards creating awareness about sexual diversity.
Of late, the activist has been witnessing many firsts in her life -- she was invited by the Indian President to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Altamas Kabir as Chief Justice of India in 2012, then by the International Bar Association to speak about the legal rights of sexual minorities, in a conference in Tokyo.
After Supreme Court of India acknowledged ‘transgender’ as a third gender, Akkai became the first transgender to get a driving licence. With the State bestowing such an honour on a transgender for the first time, Akkai says her resolve to fight has only strengthened. “It is a crucial step and Karnataka has become a role-model for other states. It’s indeed an honour but getting an award is one thing because Section 377 makes us criminals. Then how does the State ensure my safety, my dignity? How do we ensure we are treated equally, how do we implement the State policy for transgenders? And not just the State’s, even my responsibility has increased towards the community.”
Uma/Umesh, social activist and community RJ
Tune into Radio Active 90.4 MHz (A community radio by Jain University), every Thursday morning from 10 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. and you will hear Umesh or Uma as fondly called by people recounting an incident from her life in the show Jeeva Diary. To keep the listeners hooked, Uma weaves into her story the elements of poetry and drama. “The mainstream media has limited space for us but we need to be heard. We need to share amongst ourselves which is where such efforts come into play,” says Uma, who is in the process of bringing out the fourth edition of her Kannada quarterly Ananya.
Uma was born a boy in Ramanagara District but like Akkai, felt “trapped in a man’s body”. Non-acceptance by the community in the village led Uma to flee her home after finishing class 10.
In Kanakapura, working at a silk factory, harassment was accompanied by rapes and abuse. Search for her identity and fight for her rights took her to Sangama which was followed by years of social work for the LGBT community. Samara, Payana, Karnataka Sexual Minority Forum were co-founded by her along the way. And in 2011 was born Jeeva “to address three main issues we feel are facing today -- mental health, livelihood and community media,” says the RJ, who recently released the CD of her 25 shows aired so far.
Also, to Uma’s credit is Sharanya Mathu Sruthi Love Story, a 20 minute-film on a lesbian couple’s love story and their struggles. The Kannada film with English subtitles is on YouTube.
But how did she equip herself for the job? “Just by looking up the Internet. I do the entire production work for Jeeva Diary. So you learn on the job.” A new show and a fellowship by Hamsafar Trust in Mumbai are some new developments in Uma’s life. Interestingly, Uma doesn’t dress up like a woman and neither has she got her sex changed. “When we are fighting the whole issue of image like what makes a woman, who is a woman, who is a man and what characterises them, then the whole purpose would be defeated. What I feel from inside is more important. Why can’t a woman wear shirt and trousers? Everyone is a human first and then a gay, transgender, man, woman etc.”
Megha, social worker
If awards and recognition are the only yardstick of measuring success then Megha is a misfit here. Yet, her achievements are no less. She isn’t associated with any NGO, but does what she knows best. Megha dances at weddings to earn her living. On Magadi Road, she has built a small house, where she lives with 12 other transgenders. Every month, each of them contribute Rs.50 to homeless elderly people in the area. Poor kids are taught and fed at her house. She has even adopted three kids - one here and two in her hometown Shivamogga, where she was born to Marwari parents. Running away from home as a 12 year-old, living on the streets, raped and abused, Megha knows how cruel the world can be a homeless child. “These kids shouldn’t go through what I have. I want to form a trust where we can finance education of abandoned children or those whose parents have died. As I haven’t studied beyond class three, what else can I do? I dance and earn.”
Vasudhendra, writer/publisher
Vasudhendra is elated at the latest development in his life. The popular Kannada writer will gain more readers when his much-talked about book Mohanaswamy — a collection of gay short stories, gets translated into English and published by HarperCollins next month. The book, first published in Kannada in 2013, treaded a new path in Kannada literature. “Whatever little is there on homosexuality in Kannada literature is negative. But what about people who don’t read English? After the book came out, people — gay men, married men with kids, elderly gay men, started to contact me,” says the writer who followed it up with a column on homosexuality related issues in a newspaper.
With 12 books dealing with IT, globalisation, widows in the community of Madhwa Brahmins, the 40 year-old writer was already a popular name in the Kannada literary world, but 2013 marked a new beginning in his life, “I came out with Mohanaswamy on December 11, 2013, when the Supreme Court came out with its verdict upholding section 377 that criminalises homosexual sex. People advised me against coming out as I would lose my readers. Yes, I lost some and gained some. In fact, I regret not coming out earlier when my parents were alive. They would have embraced me just like my brothers and sisters have.”
But Vasudhendra did endure his share of struggle while growing up. “I couldn’t tell anyone. I went into depression. I had to be on medication to come out. I started feeling better after I started mingling with the community. That’s what I tell people during counselling that you must come out.” He also has a publishing house, Chanda, that seeks to encourage young Kannada writers. So far he has published 59 books. For the first time, he is also translating from Kannada to English. “I am starting with Jon Krakauer’s Into thin air. We don’t have many books on mountaineering in Kannada.”
