Monday, December 17, 2007

Transgending a barrier...

I was just going through a blog of a friend recently, when i came across an article he had written regarding the eunuchs or hijras he comes across in the second class compartments of our trains. What he mentions ther, rang a bell in my mind. The fact is, while i do consider myself an extremely tolerant individual, i have to admit, even i have felt a sense of repulsion at the claps which accompany their arrival, whenever i am in a train. And i hav also been guilty of handing over loose change to them, just so that i can get rid of them.
While they do behave seemingly despicably in public, i was curious. What i have read up makes me feel that all they are doing is getting their back on a society which has given them nothing but ridicule and harassment. Most of these hijras are basically males who realising they are gay, just could not tolerate the idea of living with a woman, and, in the face of the unforgiving public, decided to castrate themselves and join one of the hijra households. Their main source of livelihood became begging and prostitution, not by choice, but because they are simply not recognised to get a job elsewhere. There are a few, though, who are born without their genitals. For the most though, they have to undergo a painful castration procedure, before they can achieve so called salvation. Through my pals blog, i came across this fascinating link regarding their existence. Do read it.

http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2022


You do wonder, and feel, for these people. India is a country based on rigid social norms and customs. The idea of even accepting a homosexual, is something people would shudder away from. I do wonder, when are we ever going to realise? To each his own..If somebody is gay, that hardly is their fault. And while i would like to believe that this is a norm only with the older generation, some experiences i have had, even with casual buddies, tells a different story. The reaction i have got from this so called younger generation, ranged from disgust to a feeling that these people should never really be allowed to roam freely.

I just hope, the next time i meet one of them on a train journey through the country, i will be able to see through my own revulsion.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Runnin' On Empty

When i signed up to run in the Pune marathon for AIDS awareness, i never expected the circus that it turned out to be. While i do agree that it was a charity event for a cause, it does get a bit frustrating when you realise most of the junta are just not interested in the 'marathon' part of the event. Of course, the main event (42.195 Kms) was goin on nearby, wher all the actual runners took part. So, what a few of us people who were actually interested in running the stretch found was that, we had to get around whole groups of people shouting and virtually partying on the roads, to actually get somewhere. This may have included dads, moms, uncles, aunties, grandmoms and granddaddies, and maybe the pet dog. And people with varying degrees of pouch around them that you wonder if they actually were planning to really run. And of course, the event hardly had a proper flag off, with the result, some people ended up startin off around a half hour after it actually began. Of course, it is also possible that a majority of the people turned up to catch the celebrities in action at the event. Salman, Sunil Gavaskar, Aarti Chabbria(man! what a babe!), and a couple of the Chak De girls... what more could the scream brigade ask for?
On the brighter side of things, me and my buddy Ab, had started practising on the road only a week or so before the run, and happily, managed to complete the near 5kms in around 25 mins with hardly any stoppages. Of course, Ab had whetted my appetite for it by proclaiming his aim of running in the Mumbai half marathon(21 kms) in january. That though remains to be seen.. though it does seem a great thing to look forward to practising for.

Now THAT would be what i call a marathon...