Transgender devotees carve unobtrusive niches for themselves to offer Pongala

Transgender devotees find solace in discreet Pongala alcoves, supported by community and government initiatives in Kerala.

Transgender people seem to create inconspicuous nooks to offer Pongala away from arguably probing and judgemental eyes on Thursday.

The Hindu stumbled upon such an unobtrusive alcove for transgender devotees near the Government Ayurveda College in the expansive festival area spread across 30 municipal wards in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limits.

The four-member group were largely incommunicado. They appearedvirtual recluses, possibly a fallout of the societal and familial discrimination they might have endured.

However, one of them, Kunjatta, agreed to speak to The Hindu. Kunjatta had arrived for the festival with four others. Kunjatta said the group supported each other and helped each other survive the harsh social and economic circumstances afflicting the community. Kunjatta says transgender people have turned out in strength to offer Pongala at different locations in the city, compared to past years. Theirs was just one among several other similar groupings.

Sheetal Shyam, a member of the State Transgender Justice Board under the Department of Social Justice, quoting a 2015 count, says that there were at least 4,000 transgender people in Kerala.

Sheetal says the numbers have possibly increased over the past 10 years. According to Sheetal, the Kerala government’s transgender empowerment schemes launched in 2017 by the first Pinarayi Vijayan government have tasted some success. “It is one reason why transgender people are broadcasting their distinctive identity in public venues and social life, including Pongala,” Sheetal adds. 

Sheetal says the trend among transgender people was to migrate from rural localities to urban centres, where they arguably find less discrimination and more understanding. “Transgender people find Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram more welcoming than other urban centres. Several have migrated there to find jobs. Most transgender people prefer to live in groups after facing ostracisation in their families and other social groups,” Sheetal adds.