Sometimes we saw a lone hijra quietly leaving through a locked gate of a posh house in the Defence suburb.
If anyone wants to know more about hijra life, I recommend Louise Brown’s “The Dancing Girls of Lahore.” She spent quite a bit of time living in Lahore’s red light district, and as a foreigner she was able to befriend some in the hijra community as well.
]]>As a Westerner, I would like to add that Westerners should refrain form making arbitrary judgments about people in other cultures based on their own biases, particular since most Americans/Europeans know very little about India and the history and culture of its people.
If you’ve ever had the occasion to meet and actual Hijra (not a beggar in drag, but an real Hijra), what you’d find is a person not so unlike yourself doing the best they can to survive with what the world has given them.
]]>Needless to say, their status in Indian society is non-existent. At best (and worst) they are heckled and looked down upon or shunned; most of us are disgusted by them and I won’t claim otherwise. Their physical demeanour (and physicality), combined with very in-your-face, crass, intimidating behaviour makes me recoil (at least mentally); while my scarcely hidden disgust feeds their aggression. Its a vicious cycle, alright.
At some point I lost that childhood fear. It was replaced by a studied indifference and desire to not give in to their demands. Which brings me to their presence at Indian weddings (especially in the north of India, this is almost a given). In all the weddings I have been a part of, I have never seen their dancing ‘enjoyed’ by the wedding party, their visit is purely to extract money (often absurdly large amounts) under the guise of ‘blessings’. After the occassional bout of resistance by some indignant member of the wedding household, these demands are usually given in to, all that remains is the negotiation for the amount. Its mostly because nobody wants conflict and melodrama at a happy occassion like a wedding.
]]>Really, there is no excuse for their behaviour. If they are marginalised by society, it is because they present themselves as uber-sexualised caricatures of femininity, and that too in a society where women are expected to, and do go to some lengths to present themselves as conservatively as possible. Even heterosexuals would be banned from work-places and social events if they behaved as the hijras do. Hijras are also known to indulge in baby-snatching. In fact, one of the reasons why are they are paid off when they turn up to celebrate births is because traditionally, they would demand to check the gender of the baby, and if was transsexual, they would take the baby away with them, to live out its life as a hijra. Overall a disgusting lot, and given the corrupt state of Indian state and society, nothing can be done about them either.
of strangers,
]]>I have also done a meager amount of research on their living conditions as a journalist. They have a very strong subculture, and they often live beyond the boundaries of the city/town. Whenever they hear of a birth, or wedding, they arrive in groups to sing and dance and are given money by the family. They’re detested in the society, they can’t work in regular jobs, there are few opportunities to earn respectably. They’re forced to do what they do to feed themselves, yet, I can’t convince myself that their aggression is justified.
It’s very disturbing.
]]>I would have never known about this. Thanks for the article!
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