TIRUVANNAMALAI: Knowledge will give you power, but character respect,” said the great American martial artist Bruce Lee once. Amassing power and earning respect being a dictum for many, a quest for knowledge and honest self-expression becomes imperative.For those born into the privilege of acceptance, it may seem pretty straightforward. But it may not be so for the ones who have to clear their path forward on their own, and live in a world that is far from accepting you.
For 38-year-old Amirtha, a transwoman, impediments were part of her daily life. It was the perseverance and determination to make meaning for her life, then, that showed her the way. A pursuit for knowledge and showcase of character meant she cracked the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) entrance exam, and secured a government job earlier this year.
She was not born into a wealthy family. Her parents were daily wage labourers, and they had seven children to feed. Her siblings dropped out of school due to the family’s financial conditions, but Amirtha was not ready to give up her studies. Her determination only grew stronger when she realised that she became a transwoman. “I was in class 10 when it happened to me, and I did not know how to take it. I was shy,” Amirtha told TNIE.
Maariamma, Amirtha’s elder sister, said: “Initially, our family was not supportive. It was difficult to understand what she was going through. We are from a rural place in Thoothukudi district, and the incident happened in the late 1990s. Awareness about such things was poor at that time, and we did not know what she was going to do with her life.”
Having identified herself with the gender, she was left to deal with a society where she had to fend for herself against constant humiliations from different quarters. And if there was somewhere she put all those insults hoping to return as investments, it was in her studies.
Amirtha said she considers her science teacher at school, Manonmaniam, as an important person in her school life. “She was my guide and stood by me during my difficult times. I was able to score more than 80 per cent marks in class 10 and 12, because of people like her who crossed paths with my life,” she said.
After finishing her schooling, Amirtha took it upon herself to raise money for her higher education as her family could not provide her with any financial support. She worked in an STD booth for a year, and then with the money earned, took up a diploma course in mechanical engineering at a government polytechnic college. With the help of some of her friends, she got placed in a private firm in Chennai.
K. Umeshkumar, Amirtha’s former colleague, said, “The management accommodated her. While she did face struggles at the workplace, she managed to hold the frustrations under her lips and made sure her work spoke for her.” She worked for the firm for about 14 years.
“However, I wanted to take up a government job because I was not sure how long a private firm could employ me. I cleared the TNPSC Group-IV exam in my second attempt in 2019,” she said. Now working as a typist at a government polytechnic college in Tiruvannamalai, Amirtha said she would use her space and time to teach students from poor financial backgrounds, and help them understand the importance of education. After all, there isn’t anyone better than Amirtha to talk about the power of knowledge, and the need to stand up for oneself.