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I have been staying in Dehradun since my birth and beholding for an extended time that some people from a community come to our occasions of joy like weddings, birth. These people give blessings to the newly married couple or newborn baby for better future life by singing and dancing. In turn, they are provided some amount of money as a ‘nek’ they call it. These people are called kinners in India also called transgenders.
Many people in our society still do not see transgenders in good light and perspective, while they are just like us and need the place, love, and care they deserve. We should give them the respect they deserve.
In fact, in some Hindu Puranas, transgenders are also considered to be a form of God Ardhanarishwara. It is an androgynous composite form of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Since I’ve known this I’ve always wondered, why do people still prefer keeping their distance from them?
In the past few days, I was skimming through newspapers and found some news about good deeds done by them that definitely can change one’s perspective towards Kinners.
In the district of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh (India), a group of Kinners helped a poor family. Head of this family Ramesh Padri, his wife Mamta, and his young daughter used to live in Gopal Ganj, Gorakhpur. Ramesh Padri used to run a vegetable cart in the local market. For better earning sometimes he used to work at a kinner’s house. Due to Ramesh’s poor health, he passed away with his wife Mamta worried about how she will make the ends meet especially with her young daughter’s marriage coming up. She meets Prema, the head of the kinner’s community. Mamta expresses her concern to the head, Prema sympathizes with her and promises Mamta to help. Prema and her companions decided to use some money from the collected amount locally called ‘nek’, and managed to get Mamta’s daughter married with great pomp and show.
Another incident of kindness that I think back to, about eunuchs is one of my personal experiences, in a nearby school in Vikas Nagar, Uttarakhand, India. Some kinners helped two girls throughout their life by taking the responsibility to raise them when the parents of these two kids passed away in an accident. Kinners were present at the incident site and they made every possible help available, that was needed. Today, the girls live at their uncle’s house happily and the kinners are still in touch with them ensuring the welfare of the 2 kids.
For themselves, the kinners have to boost money during the festivities by dancing and singing, which doesn’t make it any easier for them to maintain an easy livelihood.
There are many more examples that will bring out the good in the kinners in our society. They are humans like us, are sensitive just like other humans. We should initiate carrying change in our attitude or behavior towards them.
Many countries including India have recognized transgender people as a third gender. This is promising news for all transgenders but still, they are to be socially validated entirely.
One or more sections of society must be accepted as they are, regardless of size or preconceived notions, share the love so it can reciprocate back into society.
