Two trans teachers in Chennai create classrooms full of inclusivity and literature

Meet two trans teachers at a school in Poonamallee who are making steady whirlwinds in the confines of their classrooms, reminding us of Robin Williams’ iconic Dead Poets Society

Marakkah’s table is full of teaching paraphernalia. There are half-marked papers from a recent test, a red ink pen, many textbooks, registers, lunch bags and a water bottle. It might seem like nothing really separates this Tamil trans teacher from the rest of the educators at her school except her bright rainbow badge. “I wear it every day,” she says.

However, a look at her classrooms might help change this thought. Here, it is customary that when Marakkah enters the classes she teaches at Karthik Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Poonamallee, her students stand up to say: ‘Theendamai manidhaneyam atra seyalum perun kutramum aagum’ (Untouchability is inhuman and a crime). It is on the first page of the Tamil Nadu government’s textbook.

Her students also address her with the gender neutral term ‘teacher’ instead of the usual ‘ma’am’, ‘madam’ and ‘sir’. There are pictures of BR Ambedkar, Periyar and Karl Marx here. There is also active discourse about pride marches, caste-based violence in the State and the latest Supreme Court judgment, during the last 10 minutes of her 45 minute class.

Marakkah’s first introduction to her students was simple and straightforward. When she joined on the first day earlier this academic year, she asked everyone if they had seen trans people before. “They answered yes. Some said they had seen trans people on streets, begging. I told them that trans people can be doctors and engineers. They can also be Tamil teachers like me who have come to teach you.”

This teacher’s last few months have been far more stable than before. Now, she wears the clothes that she feels comfortable in, and is back to teaching after a turbulent few months of unemployment. She has nine years of experience in the world of special education but moved to this school in Poonamallee after facing discomfort and harassment due to her gender. 

Now, she enjoys the respect of her students and a certain closeness that she once only wished she could achieve. She is affable, seeks feedback from her students and believes that teachers must be responsible leaders who are deeply dedicated to their work. “My only problem is getting ready and coming to work on time. But when I enter, I am in the zone and I cannot wait to teach,” she says.

Marakkah is a published poet, a great cook and a person who enjoys dancing. She is in the process of setting up the Queer Chennai Library and is seeking book donations of queer literature for the same. When her students walk in, she looks to be kind. “A student told me that she liked it when I addressed her with the informal Tamil term ‘di’. It made her feel like I was her mother, she said. She signed her feedback form calling herself my loving daughter. It felt very heartwarming,” she says. Through the interview, she calls me ‘thangam’ — gold.