There are four types of members in the Kinnar Gharana: narrates the tales of atrocities to the dead, considers the guru as a husband, breastfeeds to make a sister

The masculine body and the feminine gait. Faces covered in makeup. Heavy jewellery. Clapping. Trembling to the beat of the dholak. Car windows thump on the road. Singing congratulations on the wedding and the arrival of the little soul. People giving blessings, who are known as Kinnars. Who are these people after all? Where do you come from? Why is his birth a story and final farewell an enigma? Read in Pride Month, Bhaskar Woman’s report on the life, customs, marriage, relationship and final farewell of eunuchs …

Writer and writer Mahendra Bhishma explains that the fabric of our society is made up of men and women, but a third gender is also a part of this society, which the civilized society looks at with contempt. Eunuchs also come to this world like ordinary children, but with the passage of time, physical changes make them different from all of us. Let us tell you that Mahendra Bhishma has been associated with the Kinnar community for almost two and a half decades and has also written two books on the Kinnar community named ‘Kinnar Katha’ and ‘Main Payal’. Presently Mahendra Bhishma is working as Registrar in Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court.

The story of oppression-o-sitm starts from home
Mahendra Bhishma says that when a transgender child is born in the house, the parents also turn their backs. Hit the child. To not harm the respect, so the child is handed over to the eunuch community. Some parents want their child to be able to read and write, but the society forces the child so much that he leaves the house himself after getting fed up at the age of 15-16 years. The life of the country’s first eunuch judge Joita Mandal and beauty queen Naaz Joshi is a living example of this.

incomplete body full mind
People whose reproductive organs are not fully developed. Male body, but women’s chest, gait and voice. Female body, but mustache, no growth of chest, absence of uterus etc. Born eunuchs are women by heart. They feel comfortable being with women. They like to dress up like women. There are four branches of eunuchs – Buchara, Neelima, Mansa and Hansa. Buchara are born eunuchs. Neelima becomes herself, Manasa joins voluntarily. On the other hand, Hansa are eunuchs formed due to physical deficiency or impotence.

Seven Houses, Thousands of Gaddis
JNU research student and Gender discourse and ‘Yamdeep’ The author of Harshita Dwivedi meets eunuchs living across the country. Sit with them, spend time. So that they can feel the pain even from the darkest clouds behind the smiling faces. Harshita tells that there are seven families with eunuchs across the country. There are thousands of gaddis (an area where the eunuchs have a chief living) to which millions of eunuchs are associated. Till now I have met hundreds of eunuchs. I have heard many stories of pain. In the Kinnar community, the Guru-Shishya tradition is at the top.

Celebration on joining Gharana, ‘Shuddhikaran’ is painful
Harshita says that whenever a new eunuch comes in a household, a festival is celebrated. The Gurus and the heads of the Gaddis of other families come. There is a lot of dancing. The Guru gives a new name to the eunuchs who join the gharana. Clothes, money, jewelry and some household items are given. From then onwards, parents, husband and siblings and the head of the family all become the guru for the eunuch. The eunuchs apply vermilion in the name of the guru. They also keep the fast of Karva Chauth. Respect the Guru as the head of the family.

Writer Harshita tells that during the time of inclusion in the gharana, the men who are eunuchs of the body, they are done by removing the private part, which is called Shuddhikaran.

Language, clapping, percussion and dancing are taught in the families.
After getting initiation, the language of the eunuchs, dancing and singing, and playing the dholak are trained in the gharana. Then congratulatory songs are sent to the area along with experienced eunuchs. Out of the earnings of eunuchs, a part has to be given to the gaddi or gharana.

Who becomes the guru of eunuchs?
According to Harshita, the guru of the gharana declares five people as his successors on the basis of preference. After the death of the guru, the eldest of these five becomes the guru of the gharana. For the Kinnar community, the talk of the Guru is a stone line.

There are also some rules of eunuchs-
If one gharana has expelled it, then the other gharana cannot keep it here. If a hijra of another gharana is liked, then the guru can bring him into his gharana only after paying the price asked for, and not by coercion. The oath of keeping all the secrecy of the eunuch society confidential has to be taken.

Weird custom is ‘sisterhood’
According to Mahendra Bhishma, when one eunuch associates a sister relationship with another eunuch, then both breastfeed each other. It has nothing to do with age. This custom is called ‘Bahnapa’ in the language of eunuchs.

The Kinnar community and common people rotate the statue of Aravan Dev in the city on the 18th day of the Kinnar marriage festival in Kunagam. After this the idol is immersed. (Photo- Harshita Dwivedi)

One day marriage and then widow
Mahendra Bhishma says that I have met many eunuchs who fell in love with ordinary men. But except one or two, most of them have got cheated in love. People use them and leave. There are few people who support and love.

Harshita Dwivedi says, ‘Kinnars marry every year according to their religious beliefs. Kunagam village in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu is where the 18-day eunuch marriage festival begins from the first full moon of the Tamil New Year. Thousands of eunuchs from all over the country gather here. On the 17th day of the festival, the eunuchs get married with the idol of their adorable god Aravan. This marriage is for one night only.

Kinnar ready to marry Aravan Dev in Kunagam. According to tradition, every year eunuchs marry their deity Aravan Dev. (Photo- Harshita Dwivedi)

On the 18th day, a huge effigy of Aravan Dev is paraded throughout the city with gaiety. Finally the effigy is cremated. After that all the eunuchs pretend to be widows. You break your bangles. They wipe away vermilion and mourn.’ The eunuchs of South and West India follow this tradition very seriously.

last farewell puzzle
The funeral rites of eunuchs still remain a puzzle. There are different assumptions about his funeral. Writer Mahendra Bhishma says that the eunuchs who are related to their family, their last rites are performed by a member of the family according to their religious customs. Where there is no one, only eunuchs perform the last rites. Will be buried, will be given samadhi or will be cremated, it is according to the religion of the eunuch.

According to Harshita, after the death of the eunuch, the cremation is not done, but buried. It is not laid while buried, it is made to stand in the grave. Before the burial, five people selected by the Guru narrate their ordeal and pray for the salvation of the soul of the deceased. After that bury.

A eunuch dressed as a widow after the idol of Aravan Dev was immersed in Kunagam. (Photo: Harshita Dwivedi)

Why didn’t anyone see the funeral taking place? In response, Harshita says that there are few crematoriums of eunuchs across the country including Delhi’s Mehrauli, Ghaziabad. In most places there is no separate arrangement for these. In such a situation, the eunuchs bury the dead body around the place where they live. But now the houses are pucca, then uncles, uncles, brothers close to the eunuchs or unclean brothers take the dead body to the crematorium after sunset and bury it. There are very few people in the funeral procession, not even all the eunuchs are involved. There is negligible truth in the talk of hitting slippers and shoes, being beaten to the crematorium and abusing.

War on the words ‘Shemale’ and ‘Hijra’
Hijras are commonly known by words like Kinnar, Chhakka, Koti, Khojava, Thirunangai, Aravani, Khwaja Sara and Kojjah. On the other hand, the tribe living in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh is called ‘Kinnar’ or ‘Kinnaura’. This tribe has also been included in the Schedule of the Indian Constitution in 1956. This tribe has been protesting against the eunuchs being called eunuchs. They say that calling eunuchs as eunuchs is an insult to the eunuch tribe.

Photo- Harshita Dwivedi

The population of eunuchs in question
According to the 2011 Census, there are about 4.90 lakh transgenders in the country, while the actual number is much higher. In the year 2005, India Today conducted a survey on eunuchs, under which a medical checkup of 2000 eunuchs was done in Delhi. The medical report revealed that out of 2000 there were only 3 people who could be called eunuchs. Rest of 1997 were just eunuchs in nature. That is, they were those who could recover completely after minor surgery. In addition, gays and lesbians were also involved.

Mahendra Bhishma says that this community is full of money, drugs and adultery. That’s why people who are unemployed, gay, they are also undergoing surgery to become a woman. Expensive injections are given. That’s why their population has also increased.

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