On Friday, Jenifer and Venmathi began their performance as ‘Kaniyan Koothu’ dancers at the Sudalaimadaswamy temple in a graveyard at Parakkai in the Kanyakumari district at 10.30 a.m. It was past 3.15 p.m. when the rendition concluded.
“We don't know how long we will be able to remain in this profession though we opted for it out of love,” said the two transgenders, sweating profusely and out of breath for words. Ms. Jenifer said her sex rearrangement surgery still causes pain in her abdomen.
‘Kaniyan Koothu’ is traditionally an all-male folk art staged mostly on rough ground at its uncommon location over three days.
The long hours of each performance demand enormous energy and strength from every artiste in the troupe: the main singer, two percussionists and two dancers.
Not swayed
“I first danced at the Dasara festival in Kulasekarapattinam and, with encouragement from singer M. Ganesan, I decided to focus on it,” said Ms. Jenifer, who belongs to Periathazhai in the Thoothukudi district.
Ms. Jenifer’s family stood by her when she discovered her sex orientation at the age of 12, despite acute social oscatrisation. Her husband Muthukumar, a thappu player, also encouraged her.
“Please give credit to my in-laws, who never once criticised me or looked down upon me,” said Ms. Jenifer, proudly showing off a picture with her husband on the home screen of her mobile phone.
Her partner, the quiet-natured Venmathi, who catches the attention of her audience more easily because of her appealing good looks, had a harder time evolving into her identity, and was forced to leave her parents and home.
“We subsequently patched up, but the agonising moments continue to haunt me,” said the native of Valliyoor. She too is married, and recently signed documents for the allocation of a house from the government.
“We live a normal life though we cannot have children,” says Ms. Jenifer. “I raise the children of my brother.”
The movements of ‘Kaniyan Koothu’ reflect both elegance and vigour — as path-breaking transgender performers, Ms. Jenifer and Ms. Venmathi infuse it with finer sensibilities.
