Aai, I love you. Celebrating Pride Month.
June is my favourite month. It’s my birthday month! Not only that, it is known as Pride Month in support of LGBTQIA+.
This birthday, I promised myself to learn more about the pride community and to spread awareness on the same. This is when I have come across the story of Gauri Sawant, who is a transgender activist from Mumbai.
I couldn’t control my tears after reading her story, and I wrote a little excerpt of her story in my words,
“Aai,
I was only five when you passed away.
Little did I know that you never wanted to give birth to me.
I know that I was born a boy, and dad wanted me to be just like him.
Powerful, fierce, the macho man.
But I….I wanted to be a mom.
I was never given the love I needed as a child.
I was only criticized, made fun of.
Aai, why did you leave me all alone here?
The snooty aunties always found me to be weird
Days passed
Seasons changed
But nothing around me changed,
Not dad, not this judgemental society.
One fine day, I left the house before I would get any more tormented.
Aai, I wish I had you by my side, I wish I could hug you,
I knew the fate of people like me, called Hijras, made to beg on the streets,
Forced to do sex work, Forced to live a life deprived of any love
But Aai, my fate turned out different,
The few kind people still left in the society gave me support.
I identified myself as a hijra, I started working for other transgender people and people with HIV/AIDS.
I didn’t have a family, except for the people whom I helped, who considered me family.
The day Gayatri entered my life is the day my life changed.
Gayatri lost her mother to HIV, and I was fortunate enough to adopt her.
The day I hugged her, held her hand in mine, was the day I knew,
I was born to be a mother
I was born to be a mother to hundreds of other kids who lost their parents.
And I have decided to give all my love to Gayatri,
The love you and dad refused to give me
The love that society considered a murky act
The love that every single being on this earth deserves
Irrespective of gender, caste, religion and every other construct.
Aai, I don’t know why you never wanted me in your life
But thank you for bringing me into this world
I am a mother now, and my soul feels fulfilled
My daughter goes to school now, and every time I drop her off at school after the holidays, she gives me a warm hug and says Aai, I love you
I never got a chance to tell you the same.
But Aai, I love you.”
This is only a drop in the ocean, and there is a lot that we don’t know, we never acknowledge. If you are reading this, I sincerely request you to get educated about pride, transgender activists, and to spread the knowledge.
Knowledge shared is knowledge gained!
Citations:
1.VicksIndiaPnG. “Vicks — Generations of Care #TouchOfCare.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 Mar. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zeeVEKaDLM.
2.Shah, Binjal. “The Real Story of Trans ‘Mammi’ from Vicks Video, Gauri Sawant, Is Even More Incredible.” YourStory.com, 14 Apr. 2017, yourstory.com/2017/04/gauri-sawant/amp.
