India is a magical land- the Land of fakirs, rope tricks, snake charmers, the Taj Mahal, hot dusty streets, colourful market places, elephants and busting activity. So decree the millions of tourists who throng the bumpy streets, avidly searching for the unusual and the alien. We, the citizens of this magical land, are pretty much used to all these “delights”! But there are some parts of our land and its culture, that even we shun, abhor and fear.
Humans have, since their inception, or “creation” as the holy-minded would phrase it – have always had little faith in themselves. They have worshiped and exalted all they did not understand and fear. Be it fire, water, thunder, lightening, storms, winds, the sun, moon and stars, natural phenomenons like earthquakes, tornadoes and the like, and “evil spirits”. They have converted these into deities to be worshiped and appeased. In our diverse land, that has divided itself into castes and creeds, there exists a sect that includes itself into the “misunderstood, feared, shunned yet glamorized”.
Their face is their fortune. Their shrill voices, powder-caked cheeks, brightly rouged cheeks, tinkling anklets and kajal-lined eyes, herald the entry of a grotesque parody of womanhood into your street or your home. The male voices shouting expletives, palms meeting outwards in a trademark clap, the threatening lifting of gaudy sarees, preying on the susceptible passer-by for readily given alms– these are not your average beggars. They are the Eunuchs – castrated males, Kinnars or hijras. We see them on our streets and colonies, but have no knowledge of their reasons for have come into existence, and remained so in just one country in the whole world- India.
The word “Eunuch” is derived from the Greek eune (bed) and ekhein (to keep) or “keeper of the bed”. They have been in glorified existence since about the 9th Century BC. These castrated men who dressed in female attire and had the muscles and the brawn of men, were the ideally suited guardians of the royal harems. The concubines and queens of the emperors were “safe” with them. Their practice began in China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, when there were about 70,000 of them. The last well-known eunuch, Sun Yaoting, died in 1996 in China. They were popular in the Assyrian Empire in the court of the Egyptian Pharaohs and in Vietnam in about 600 BC. It is said, that the justification for their employment as high-ranking civil servants was that , since they were incapable of procreation and marriage, they would not be tempted to seize power and begin a new dynasty, the common danger of that era.
Nobody knows whether all of these “third sex” people were born without male organs, or voluntarily converted by self-castration. As a result of a number of high-ranking jobs being available for eunuchs, poor families often converted one of their sons into a eunuch, to get him into the royal palaces and ensure bread and butter for him and his whole family. This is quite in tone with the reasons being poverty-ridden families selling their daughters in to prostitution even today. What is known is, that eunuch-hood was prevalent worldwide across the centuries and spanned various cultures, but has survived only in India.
The ancient Indian Kama Sutra refers to a people of the “third sex” (triteeya prakrati), who can dress either as males or females and perform fellatio on men. Today, Eunuchs in India live in the margins of society, face discrimination and ridicule, and yet find an unwilling place in the rituals practiced across the country. The birth of a child, marriage in the family, inauguration of a new shop, business, home, are all incomplete without the”blessings” of the hijra. They come in groups, invited or uninvited, dressed in traditional shiny sarees or salvaar-kameez, with gaudy make-up, and dance, sing and gyrate to popular filmy numbers, until appeased by cash and gifts by the family. The curse of the unappeased hijra is feared by people. The ceremony is supposed to bring good luck and fertility to the family.
Less known is the fact that hijras in contemporary India may number about two lakhs today. Either born or self castrated, they remain a people with lack of testosterone and estrogen both. Their bodies take on the characteristics of the post pubertal humans, voices remain rough, but mannerisms become blatantly “feminine”. Most of them are forcibly or voluntarily castrated, and on rare occasions when a eunuch baby is born anywhere, the eunuch tribe take him away to raise “him” as their own.
The hijras in India exist within a complex social system unique to their community. The “operation” of castration is usually performed outdoors and done with pomp and show. The head of each group of hijras is called the “Guru”. The Guru removes the unwanted appendages and various methods are in practice in India. A common method begins by keeping the “victim” in isolation for a few weeks, and feeding him opium with milk, to dull hid senses. Then while he is in a state of intoxication, an auspicious day is decreed by the Guru and the ritual operation is crudely performed The boy is laid on a wooden block, a cord is ties tightly around his testicles to stop the flow of blood, and he is held down by the group. Then a sharp knife is used to cleanly sever the male organs. The wound is bled for a few hours, signifying the drainage of manhood and the onset of womanhood. A metal or wooden plug is inserted into the wound, to stop full closure and leave an aperture for drainage of urine. Hot oil, herbs, haldi, etc are poured over the area to facilitate healing. In some communities, the process is incomplete until the castrated boy is made to sit on a grinding stone, and made to push down till he bleeds from the anus, thus signifying the first menstruation.
Thereafter, the Guru takes charge of teaching the new member the tricks of the trade. Their society is strictly hierarchical, and the eunuch's life is governed by the rules of his Guru. Hijras in India are broadly divided into seven “Houses”. Each house has a Nayak at its head, with several Gurus under each nayak. The houses in North India have very rigid systems in place, while those of South India are more lax.
The high-point of the hijra communities across the country is the annual festival held on Chitrai Purnima at Koovagam, a place of pilgrimage for the hijras which lies about 200 km south of Chennai. This festival celebrates marriage and subsequent widowhood. It marks the Tamil New Year according to the lunar calendar. The story that was the origin of this unique ceremony is from the Mahabharata. According to it, one of the warriors of the Pandavas, called Aravanan, one of Arjuna's sons, volunteered to go as “suicide bomber” into the Kauravas camp , to gain tactical edge over them and win the epic war. The boy expressed a wish to marry and consummate his marriage in one night, and sacrifice his life thereafter. This posed a huge problem as no girl was willing to become a widow one day after her nuptials. So, Lord Krishna assumed the female form of “Mohini” and became the “bride” of Aravanan. This marriage and widowhood is glamorized and worshiped and celebrated with “gay”abandon at this festival every year. Hijras from across the country throng the streets of Koovagam, the marriage and widowhood of their deities are celebrated amidst competitions, fashion shows, singing, dancing and finding new mates after the widowhood has been accepted. Huge crowds gather to thunderously applaud the ramp-gyrating 'models”, and the temple portico sing wedding songs in deep mellow voices.
Inside the temple, the atmosphere is apocalyptic, with the clang of a hundred bells, coconut-smashing, the incense from jasmine agarbattis and tying the sacred thread around the necks of the hijras – depicting the moment of their marriage to Aravanan.
This unique sect has lived, thrived and survived within the rigid, unfriendly fabric of the divided Indian society. They have earned their livelihood with peddling their legendary skills and also their bodies. Althogh there is no clear data about their numbers today, it is estimated that there are about 1.2 million kinnars in India alone. Their “services” in the flesh-trade are cheaper for the poor frustrated youth, hence homosexuality is rampantly practiced within their colonies – for choice and for remunerations. This may have carried on for centuries to come, but fr the landmark judgment by the Delhi High Court this year. The Court repealed Section 377 f the Indian Penal Code,thus decriminalizing consensual sex between consenting adults.”Consenting adults” include those of the same sex. This triggered celebrations within the Gay Communities across the country, and the Kinnar community. The judgment caused some confusion among the semi-literate and illiterate kinnars of Meerut, who do not fully understand its implications, but think that it merely allows kinnar marriages. According to “Mumtaz”, a kinnar of the town, “Main khush hoon. Mujhe pata hai ki court-kutcheri ne hamare liye shaadi karna jayaz kar diya hai. Par ham to isse najayaz kabhi maante hi nahin the.”
Another kinnar of the town, under condition of anonymity, said, “ Hum padhe-likhe nahin hain Madam. Humare log akhbaar nahin padhate. Aur hamen interview dene ki mannayi hai. Mujhe pata hai ki bahut si hamari bahenein gussa hongi. Hamen log waise bhi darr ki nazron se dekhate hain.” With humbly and respectfully folded hands, another of the group said, “Madam ji aap bura na maanen. Magar ham aapki koi madad nahin kar paayenge”.
On informing them about the group of kinnars who moved the High Court on January 20th, seeking their Right to Education, and the petition filed by Sonam Singh, a eunuch from Ajmer, seeking the constitution of a National Kinnar Ayog, a member of the Meerut Kinnar group said, “Hamein iske bare mai zyada nahin pata. Hamari roz-marrah ki zindagi main aisi cheezon ka koi fark nahin padne wala. Yahi hoga, ki kuch press-waaley aayenge, aur hamen pareshaan karenge.”
Interestingly, in February, the apex court dismissed the plea by Ms. Sonam Singh,and directed her to approach the home ministry, where the matter still lies “under consideration”!
Another landmark judgment of the Madhya Pradesh bench has thrown the eunuchs of India into confusion. Its immediate effect was to declare that Ms. Kamla Jaan – a eunuch – did not qualify for mayor of Katni city, as the post was reserved for a “woman”. Ms. Jaan made headlines four years ago, when “she” became India's first eunuch to be elected as mayor of Katni. Subsequently, reel life depicted a similar victory in the famous film,“Welcome to Sajjanpur”.
So where does the threshold of the 21st century leave the desi kinnar? At the very same altar of the shabby patchwork of our legal, social and political scene. The “badnuma daag” that we ourselves created, fostered and kept alive. All we can do is to understand and accept this “third sex” as part of us, the citizens of free India, without judgment and condemnation. That, above all other measures in our close-minded society, will surely improve their lot.
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[This article was published in the Meerut Plus edition of the Times of India.]
