I did not expect even in my wildest dreams that I would meet a transgender in my small agricultural village! Saarika was born as a man with the qualities of a woman. In a male body, female spirit is residing. She hails from a poor illiterate family where the culture is a man should behave like a man and never like a woman! What could this young boy do? He simply followed his heart. He did not bother about the society or about what people would say. Having spoken and taken the parents into confidence and having known the reality, his parents did the wisest thing – accepted their son’s request.
Three to four years ago this lean smart and tall looking dark handsome man, spent the last of his and his family’s meager savings on a sex change surgery as he has the heart and qualities of a woman in him. He was reborn as Saarika. The name Saarika belongs to a beautiful yesteryear’s actress and one of my favorite heroines.
On the bare fore-arms of Saarika there is a tattoo and it reads ‘Mom & Dad’. The society ex-communicated Saarika & her family. She said ‘the so-called society and its members never gave us thing; they never fed us when we stayed hungry. Please tell me sir, why should I bother about their ex-communication? I simply ignored these idiots’. Saarika is a Hindu lady. She sports vermilion on her fore-head and a ‘Mangal Sutra’ around her neck. ‘Mangal’ in Sanskrit means auspicious and ‘Sutra’ means thread. Together it means an auspicious thread uniting the souls.
Curious I asked Saarika about her mangal sutra. Initially shy, but later frankly she said that she fell in love with a Muslim boy called Mohammad Wajid married him. Wajid works as an auto-rickshaw driver. Next to the tattoo of ‘Mom & Dad’ there is another tattoo – ‘Wajid’. Saarika is 21 years old & Wajid 19 years! The medicines and the sex change surgery took a toll on her health! Their rebellious nature is worth appreciating. Since they knew their limitations on progeny, they have even adopted a child!
Saarika and Wajid have neither seen the world nor are they highly educated. In fact, they never went beyond the district surroundings. But these people are living a life which very few of us could afford. They are living their life with Passion and Courage. In the photo above you can see both – Ms. Saarika & Wajid. Thank you for meeting me. This meeting taught me many things. May the God bless you with more courage and good health.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
