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Published: March 14th 2014
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Delhi
11
th March 2014
“
Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side” Lou Reed
“
Leave it to me as I find a way to be C
onsider me a satellite forever orbiting
I know all the rules but the rules did not know me“ Eddie Vedder, Guaranteed
I needed to take Gladys the wonder bike for some minor work and found The Bike Club workshop in Pahar Gange run by a lovely guy known as “DD” and his offsider “Jimmy”. Holi was fast approaching and as is their tradition, the
Hijra were working the streets for money.
Hijra denote transexual or transgender people (also known as
Aravani or
Jagappa in other parts of India). The
hijra community is diverse and complex, and their place in society goes deeper than being just men who have feminine gender identity, adopt feminine gender roles, and wear women's clothing. Their history is long in Indian culture (they are referred to in the
Karma Sutra). They live in well-defined organised communities which have sustained their numbers by adopting young boys rejected by their birth family. Many work as sex workers for survival. They
are generally born with male physiology and some undergo an initiation into the community involving the removal of the penis, testicles and scrotum.
In modern India there has been a human rights push by
hijra and social activists to recognise their 'third gender' status.
Hijra have over many generations acquired a special place in the understanding of Indians whereby they are believed to be capable of initiating curses on people who refuse to support them in what have become standard and accepted practice: working trains and buses for donations, turning up at homes when there is a new birth, and demanding funds around the two Hindu festivals of Diwali and Holi.
As a group of four
hijra (accompanied by a hired entourage of drummers) approached the bike shop, DD quickly handed his wallet to Jimmy, keeping in his pocket just a 200 rupees which he had decided was to be the limit of his contribution. The
hijra were having none of it. In what appeared to be a light hearted haggling process, they demanded 500 rupees minimum.
But there was a serious side to this as DD later explained. Failure to appease the
hijra could have
consequences. He told me stories of people who ignored the accepted practice being cursed and having weird and unexplained mishaps occur to them and their families including fatal accidents and other sudden deaths. DD, an otherwise modern educated young Indian man was convinced that you don't mess with the
hijra. He told of his father, who would normally be pretty strong in keeping the contribution to just 100 rupees when he was running the shop, handing over 100,000 rupees at the birth of his grandson (DD's son) just a few years back. He also said that the more affluent hotels in Pahar Gange will be giving over around 15,000 rupees each, no questions asked, when the
hijra paid them a visit this Holi.
After a lot of banter and threats by the
hijra to strip and make a public scene, but more importantly to incur their deadly curse, DD asked Jimmy for his wallet back and handed over 500 rupees. All was smiles and joy and the
hijra moved on to their next mark.
Hijra are forced to find ways to survive as they are often the victims of discrimination, denied access to employment and social security payments. But what is really interesting is the power they have developed over centuries to exact financial means of survival. On the one hand treated very badly socially, and on the other respected (or feared at least) in their special niche in the widely accepted belief system.
In 2010 in Bhubaneswar Odisha, I had the privilege of working with a community based organisation which supported
hijra as part of the global HIV and AIDS strategy. Just people seeking happiness and a place in the sun.
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Marguerite
non-member comment
Fascinating
If there is one community that I would like to get to know a more about it is this community. I am so ignorant when it comes to their lives. One day, I will learn more. Thank you for sharing your aweseome experiences luvy. Best hugs