Transpersons have a peaceful darshan of Lord Ayyappa

It was a special and serene Tuesday morning for four transgender persons — Anannya Kumari, Thripthi Shetti, Avanthika Vishnu and Renjumol Mohan — as they succeeded in having a peaceful darshan of Lord Ayyappa at the holy shrine in Sabarimala. An elated Anannya told us, minutes after the darshan: “IG Manoj Abhraham sir assured our protection to visit the Sabarimala as he said there were no restrictions for us to visit the shrine and offer prayers.So we set off from Thiruvananthapuram at 4:30am. We had tried to trek on Sunday but were prevented from doing so. I am visiting the temple for the first time and I felt immense joy to get the darshan of Ayyappa swami and pray for our community.”
The four-member team had been turned away by the Erumely police on Sunday morning and one of the reasons cited was that they were clad in sarees. Anannya shares her annoyance: “That day, the police did not support us and some of them even behaved rudely. I think it was probably because of their ignorance about our community and identity. Today I prayed to the Lord to rid the authorities of such ignorance and make them treat everyone alike. May God enlighten them.”
The four-member team insisted that they would trek, wearing black sarees and carrying the ritualistic irumudikettu. “It is our fundamental right to wear what we like. Also, let me clarify that our darshan has nothing to do with the Supreme Court verdict allowing all women entry into Sabarimala. We can’t equate transgender people with women, both sections are different,” adds Anannya, who earned fame as the first transgender RJ in Kerala.
Anannya and others after the temple visit
The best part, for the foursome, was that there was no resistance from any quarters. “We had a good peaceful darshan. After getting refreshed at Pamba, we started the trek to the hill shrine with sharanam vili. We got prasadam, aravana and appam. Let this darshan convey the message that we are also a part of this society and we have our own space in it. So, the society including the police should treat us with the same dignity and support that they provide to the other two genders, male and female,” says Anannya.
Renjumol, a theatre artiste, has visited Sabarimala 13 times but never as a transgender. “She used to dress as a man till now but this time she went after revealing her true identity,” says Anannya proudly.