Gone are the days when transgenders were seen as aliens by a majority of common people. The transgender community is gradually marching forward against all odds and has gained much ground in recent times. They have also made a mark in the literary world and now a handful of transgender activists turned litterateurs have come up with a new way of depicting their issues.
The portion of the Mahabharata depicting the life of Aravan is seen as the first reference to a transgender identity in written form. Transgenders like Shikhandi were characterised and given importance for the first time in that epic. Aravan is considered a god by the transgender community. But since the Mahabharata is classified as an epic or purana, litterateurs in general do not consider it literature.
Next it was Su Samuthiram who wrote a work of fiction titled Vaadaamalli, probably the first Tamil novel about transgenders. The writer faced many problems while bringing out the novel as most publishers were hesitant to touch it. Until then transgenders were seen only in short stories such as Ki Rajanarayanan’s Gomathi and found minimal representation in poems by Na Kamarajan and Inqulab.
In recent times though, transgenders are prepared to write about their world themselves. At the start of the trend are The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story by A Revathi and I am Vidya by Living Smile Vidya published circa 2008-2010. Though the works were in English, they are considered the first autobiographical sketches from the transgender community. Later the books were translated into Tamil as Vellai Mozhi and Naan Vidya respectively.
These books encouraged fellow transgenders to speak about their issues in public and at the same time, inspired many non-transgender writers to come up with their own stories about transgenders. Writers like Era Natarajan, Ma Thavasi, Va Mu Komu, Lakshmana Perumal and Bharathi Thambi portrayed transgender characters in their short stories and through them brought the issue before the common readers. Naayee Vaayee Seelai, a novella by Mu Harikrishnan, and Avan Adhu Aval, a novel by S Balabarathi, are considered important contributions to transgender literature.
Moondram Paalin Mugam by Priya Babu, published a couple of years ago and gaining momentum in recent times, is the first novel about the transgender community by a transgender in Tamil. Since no work by transgenders has come out after this novel, it remains a milestone. Moving from just documenting their lives to fictionalising the transgender community is an important trend in this genre, making transgenders themselves realise they are a part of society. Writer Kavin Malar said, “Since the transgender community is yet to achieve their rights, they have to come out with both fiction and non-fiction portraying their issues.”
Transgender Living Smile Vidya once said in a meeting, “There are works that speak of the transformation of a man into a woman. But almost no literature speaks about the transformation of a woman into a man”.