Transvestites get ''married''

Apr. 21, 2005
Full moon acting as witness, the sounds of music, laughter and
tinkling anklet bells in Tamil Nadu heralded the marriage of thousands
of transvestites from across India to normal men - only to be widowed
the next day.

The annual four-day festival to Aravan, a deity locally known as
Koothandavar, started Tuesday on the full moon night or Chitra
Pournami in the Indian month Chitra. At a small Krishna temple in the
Koovagam village in Villipuram district, the transvestites underwent
the age-old ritual, replete with gaiety, pomp and splendour, inspired
out of an excerpt from the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

The temple priest, K. Shanmugam, says he has lost count of the
weddings he performed; at least 10,000, he estimates. According to
mythology, Aravan was one of Arjuna's many sons, sacrificed so that
the Pandavas could win the battle of Mahabharata. As a last wish, he
desired to get married, causing Lord Krishna to take the form of a
beautiful woman so that Aravan could marry him. Aravan was then
beheaded, and Krishna became a widow.

Known as Aravanis, the worshippers that include transvestite community
and many normal men, whose families have undertaken vows at the temple
for some boon, undergo the complete ritual - from marrying to getting
widowed. Weddings are performed by tying the mangalsutra, or symbolic
wedlock, under the full moon.

The day after the weddings, the married men go through a consummation
ritual, following which their "spouses" go through a ritual rubbing
off their vermilion from their forehead, donning white garb like widows.

Since 2003, the rituals have been held in an organized manner with
many NGOs partaking in the activities.

A rights conference takes place every year to assure participation of
Aravanis from different states. "We take our annual holiday this time
and come home," said Meena, a transvestite, who is part of a
filmmaking effort on their lives by the Don Bosco Institute of
Communication Arts.

According to state estimates, Tamil Nadu alone has 140,000
transvestites. The South India Aravanigal Rights and Rehabilitation
Centre, Tiruchirapally, is appealing to the government to legalise the
"third gender" in all India's forms and official documents so that
they are not forced into the "male" or "female" categories.

"If we don't get jobs, we are forced into prostitution. Give us a
livelihood opportunity," says Chandra, a transvestite activist working
with the South India AIDS Action Programme.

The organisation is also imparting vocational training to the Aravanis
to wean them away from begging and prostitution. Special cultural
events are organised by NGOs. Actors, who enact the Aravan story from
the Mahabharata, also act out AIDS-care and awareness skits. Films
related to gender issues are shown and a beauty pageant for "Miss
Koovagam" is being held for the transvestite community since 2003.

http://www.indiadaily.com/breaking_news/32414.asp