The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Transgenders feel pinch of inflation

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Transgenders feel pinch of inflation

The community is deprived of many benefits such as ration cards, old age pension and respect

— Photo: K. Ganesan.

PITIABLE: Transgenders in a fix.

Inflation has forced transgenders into begging, especially those who have been eking out a living with their skill of dancing.

“Age is taking its toll and now inflation adds to it,” say Sarojamma and Madhana, who are in their late 40s.

“If there is money, it is Deepavali, if not ‘bakkiri shop (pan shop),” is the attitude of all transgender people, says Nagammal, who saves up to Rs.7000 a year to be spent during her stay in Madurai. “We are feeling the pinch of inflation. We spend more, but get less. But we allow life to go as it is,” she laughs.

Sarojamma earns through dancing while Madhana earns both through dancing and begging, especially in northern parts of the country. They say that people do not prefer their dance as they look old.

As a result, they have jumped into the already easy accessible and available option - begging that fetches them a few thousand rupees for a year.

After a struggle of begging for a year, Madhana brings in Rs.15,000, which she uses for three months to pay off rent, besides catering to the needs of elder transgenders and younger ones who are usually thrown out of their homes once they reveal their sexual status. “We are forced to get loans which we pay for the whole of next year,” says Madhana.

“Unlike normal human beings, we have to manage two houses, pay two electricity bills etc,” says Sarojamma. She spends Rs.2, 500 and Rs.600 towards rent for her house in Mumbai and Madurai. But, after price rise, she has a tendency to keep checking her expenditure, besides reducing her spending by 20 to 25 per cent. For her, a major expenditure is medical bill. Sarojamma, who is in her early 50s, spends around Rs.3000 a month on medicines. If they can afford they have a sumptuous meal, if not, they depend on ration rice.

“We do not have a proper and regular income to maintain a pucca budget,” says Muthamma, who sings in the houses of the dead (oppari). She never moves out of Madurai and earns Rs.300 a day by singing.

“If I get, I eat. Otherwise, I try to manage with the help of others like me. As a last resort, I starve.”

In the case of 43-year-old Anuppanadi Pandiamma, who works as a cook in a family, life has become strenuous at a different level. Whatever she saves in a year, she spends in months or even days on her poor sister. “My only aim is to have a home of my own - a hut,” she says. Apart from food and dress materials, most of the transgender spend a lot on helping their ilk and, of course, on drinks and drugs, which they could not afford to miss in their life, says Jeeva. She works as a cook in a local hotel and is shrewd enough to save money for her future, besides spending for other transgenders and her relatives in Aruppukottai. For no fault of theirs, this transgender community is devoid of many benefits – no ration cards, no pension and no respect from their own family members and society.

And price rise is latest addition to this list.

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