"Transgender" - people with different ability with usually a modified skill set to suit and earn in and from the society respectively. They are the people who are as good as most of us are but they are bound to or forced to get into the profession which is not respected in any world, not even their own for that matter. Possibly this could be the only reason why many NGO's are still fighting for the right to equality for transgender in our society. But can this really happen? Or should I say? Aren't these NGO’s too optimistic about it. We could not establish equality even for our women in our society, women who are Mother, Sister, Wives and what not and we are fighting for transgender!!!! But as long as there is will I am sure there will be a way too.
I thought, I would also write them as transgender in this blog
but then I realized that unless I change my opinion I can't change yours. So
let's call them ladies so as to maintain equality at least here if not in the
country and also I cannot think of something better than this. So, what is this
all about?
Here we go: - again it happened to be a story which was told to
me by a stranger becoming a friend for a train journey. I was traveling to my
home town from Rajdhani express luckily with a confirmed ticket. I got an upper
birth and since it was just 4pm I could not think of sleeping which
is often a favorite time pass while travelling. I sat on one side of a side
lower birth, enjoying the view out of the window. In front of me was a guy
wearing blue check shirt with specs on his face and a little healthy build but
always smiling. In Fact he was the one who initiated the conversation.
Where are you traveling to? - He asked me.
Hummm, Patna - I said.
Well, good that I got a companion, while extending his hand,
Rohan - he said
Abhishek, i said - while we shook hands.
Wow!! Good at least I got a company- he said.
Indeed - I said.
What else, just after a while we were like best buddies, sharing
snacks, cold drinks and pondering over politics, Bollywood, cricket and god
knows what not !!!!
Suddenly he asked me - are you married.
NO, not even planning to anytime soon - I said.
How about you- I asked.
Not yet but very soon I will - he said.
So, love or arrange? - I asked
Love, off course - he replied.
Wow!!! That's even better- I said.
You know that's in blood of every human, the moment you know the
atom you would want to know the cell and so on and so forth and I was no
different. Moreover since love marriages are not as common in India as it is in
west; there is always a story full of drama, love story and tragedies. Someone
has rightly said that we are a country which worships the love of god, we
recite and celebrate the love stories of god in every home but when the same
love and affection sprouts in our own home we don't waste time in becoming a
devil for them. The most important thing in love stories is the zeal and energy
and hence I can say that love is such an strong antidote that it can heal any
wounds or can control any affect within its range.
Anyways, would you like to throw some light over it- I asked?
Sure but you would have to believe me- he said
Do I have a choice? – I asked
Hummmm not really – jokingly he replied.
And then he agreed to share some squeeze moments with me and I
was equally excited as him.
I met Sony on a street light – Rohan started the story.
Wow!!! That’s interesting – I said.
Rohan – yeah!!! As usual I was going to my office on my new bike
is when I stopped at a traffic red light. 120 seconds was counting on
descending order - god knows who has made them, anyways I was counting
the seconds is when I noticed a heard of few ladies (transgender) knocking at
the glass panels of every window of the car and asking for money. This is
probably an usual seen of almost every city. What struck me is the beauty of
one of them, who actually did not look like those ladies. That lady came to me
and asked for money, I took my helmet off and just kept on watching her for a
while.
Paisa do na Saab - she said again.
I was so struck by her beauty, that I was lost, I kept on
watching her, while she was still asking for money is when my hand slides
quietly in my upper pocket and put all the money in her hand. Even I did not
know what I was doing.
Wow! Story of a lost man – I said jokingly.
Yeah! Kind of – he said, mean while the attendant brought the
dinner, veg for me and non- veg for Rohan. I asked the attendant to keep the
dinner on the upper birth as we were already stuffed but excited about the story.
So, Rohan, lets continue, alright, you seem to be more excited than me – Rohan
said.
Off course after all where do you get to hear such an interesting
love story?
Indeed – he said, it really is very fascinating, not because
it’s mine but because it really is.
Anyways, now onwards every time I would pass from the street I
would look for her but could not find her. I continued to watch out for her for
probably 8 days, in fact I sometimes waited there for 30-45 minutes to see if I
could get a glimpse of her but finally the wait came to an end on the 9th day.
It happened to be a Sunday, I thought why not go there today. And since
it was Sunday I had all the time in the world.
So you rode all the way to the red light again – I asked in awe!!!!
Yes – he said.
Wow!!! I had heard that love can make you blind but today you
proved it – jokingly I said. Anyways please continue –I said.
Rohan – all right, so you guessed it right, I drove down to
the street light and parked my bike besides a tea stall near by it. I stood beside
a tree, waiting for them to arrive. I would have waited there for may be 1 hour
and 30 min is when I saw them on the other side of the road. I followed them, she
was not visible. I waited there for few more minutes to see if she would
be around but she was nowhere to be found. Going ahead and asking for her would
have meant more eyes questioning me. Still I followed them without caring too
much about the people, and someone has rightly said that either fall In love or
fall apart.
Wow! You have become a poet, but maybe it’s like fall in line or
fall apart – I said
Just when he thought of taking the pride of being called a poet
is when I ruined the humor.
Rohan – you stole the show buddy – little annoyingly.
Oh not at all – I am sorry, pls carry on. That’s when I realized
that he is little short tempered or probably he did not want any interruption.
I managed to convince him very soon,
Rohan – all right, so I followed them for probably 100 m and
then asked one of the by calling “suniye”.
She – are chikne – mujhe bulaya kya re ?
Rohan – yes.
She – kya hai re – kuch dega kya ?
Rohan – I gave her INR 300, I want to know something.
She – bol na re, kya janna hai tere ko, main batayegi.
Rohan - there used to be a beautiful lady with you.
She – kaun re ? achha ! sony ki baat kar raha hai, chikne dil aa
gaya kya re tera uspe.
Rohan- shayad ! milna hai mujhe use.
She – main milaayegitujhe, ye le, while she handed over the
money and gave her contact number, kal sham ko call karna – she said.
Rohan – I called her in the evening and went on to visit the
place where they lived. I had not seen such a horrendous place before, I was
already in the red light area. I called her again to check if we can meet
somewhere else in the meanwhile I saw her waving the hand from the balcony of
the first floor went upstairs. They offered me a chair to sit on ad some snacks
to eat, though they whole place was smelling very bad but the room in
particular was well arranged with fragrance of “itra”. I asked for her again.
They all came in the room and surrounded me as if they are going to interrogate
me for a crime.
Tu kya kaam karta hai re (what do you do) – they asked –
said rohan.
Rohan - I work in an IT firm, matlab naukri hai tere pass ? – they asked.
Yes – said Rohan.
In the meanwhile the leader of them all came in, probably she
was listening to the conversation from besides the door. I don’t know if they
had judged me already, she came in with watery eyes, held my hands and said –
tu sacha aadmi hai and probably may more things.
Rohan – I was still skeptical about Sony as I was still not sure
if she was a girl. Then came the moment I was waiting for, they called Sony in
the room. I had never been that nervous, not even in my first interview and it
was very unlike me. Slowly she came in, wearing a red Saari and escorted by two
ladies besides her. They had dressed her as if I had come there with a proposal
of marriage but I too had never thought of it before. I reacted as if I was
muzzled, completely speechless while the ladies were throwing all kinds of
jokes at me. Finally I broke my silence with “hi”, she said Namaste – in
response. The head of ladies asked the troops to leave us alone for some time
and they all followed. I was just looking at her and she was looking down probably
on her nails or may be the mehendi she had applied on her hand. Have you done
all this makeup for me – asked rohan. She nodded in affirmation. I was just
trying to break the silence probably because she was getting uncomfortable as I
was doing nothing but watching her continuously. The every next moment I was on
my knees, I proposed her for marriage, she gracefully looked at me and said
that you hardly know me and moreover my background is such that I would not be
accepted by anyone in your family either – she said. Don’t you worry about
that, just say yes and I will manage everything. You would be my responsibility
– affirmed rohan. She looked at me with a smile on her face while she extended
the plate of sweets at my side. By the way before leaving the room the ladies
had told me something which was not easy for me to believe, they had found
Sony on a railway station in a garbage dumps and an astrologer had predicted
all this which was happening there. The astrologer had predicted that once she
will turn 23 she will get a life partner and on contrary she had turned 23 just
a month ago. That prediction also affirmed my belief In my decision and
re-enforced my will. While I was still waiting for her “Yes” and refused to
accept the sweets unless she would say yes, she herself picked a “Gulab Jamun” and
put it in my mouth and said yes and ran away. I felt like I was over the moon
in joy.
The ladies came in and blessed both of us and asked me about my
parents if they would agree to it. I will convince them, don’t you worry now –
said rohan.
I left the place after dinner and handed INR 1501 to Sony as
“Shagun”.
And guess what ? I have convinced my parents for an arranged
marriage but off course I too had to lie with my parents about Sony’s past,
but I am happy that we are getting married next month – said rohan.
Me- WOW!!!! jio mere Sher
!!!! we need more and more people like you. People with courage to go beyond
mediocre thinking of our society, people who would listen to their heart and
people who before changing the system are willing to change themselves.
Congratulation Buddy for a prosperous future to both of you, may you become a
guiding force in our society.
Well, most of us become the part of the change rather than the
change. I wrote this in to my blog so that it keeps on inspiring me forever.
Signing off now, Jai hind :):):)
