I knew I was different from other boys by the time I was 10. After my dad passed away, we were thrown out of our house and mum became an alcoholic. She’d fight with people, and they’d even turn violent. She'd disappear for days and we didn’t know if she was coming back.
We kept being kicked out of homes because of mum’s behaviour. The streets, railway stations, and bridges became our home. To earn money, I took up odd jobs, but I kept my identity a secret.
Once, mum took me to a Durgah thinking I was ‘possessed’. Here, I saw a Kinnar for the first time. I became friends with her and emulated her. I finally felt free and within a year, I was accepted in her community.
I gathered courage and even told mum everything. But she rejected me -- friends, family, and neighbours also isolated me.
Despite the hatred, I grew my hair, wore lipstick, and dressed like a girl. But once, in a train, a cop started arguing with me. He took me and another person from the coach to a police station. He stripped us, beat us, and forced us to perform sexual acts with each other. He even recorded everything. When I tried to file a complaint, it wasn’t accepted.
When I asked for jobs, people said no one employs ‘my kind’. So to survive, I’d to ask for alms on the train.
Then, a few college students spotted me and asked me to feature in their documentary. I was nervous, but they encouraged me. That was the turning point -- I got to work in a Hindi serial after that!
I acted in a film too and even won an award! At the felicitation, a news channel owner said he was impressed with my work. I took a big risk and asked him for a job. To my shock, he told me to come for an interview. I got selected and became the first transgender journalist in Mumbai!
In this life, I’ve seen it all – losing people, not having a job, and not being treated with dignity. It’s not been easy, but it took me a long time to love myself as I am, and I’m not going to let the world make me believe otherwise. This is me, and I’m beautiful...just the way I am.”
