Rituals, talks and celebrations at kinnar gathering

NAGPUR: Members of the

third gender

community from nearly 32 places across the country including Amravati,

Raipur

, Bilaspur, Umred, Akola and Kanpur, have converged in the city for a Kinnar Mahasammelan.

As part of the sammelan, being organized by Kinnar Sarva Samaj Vikas Sanstha, a havan and rituals were performed, followed by dance and music, near the residence of

Uttam Baba Senapati

, Nagpur head and all-India president of the Sanstha on Monday.

Samaj’s deity goddess

Bahucharajji

was worshipped with a puja presided by sadhus. “Our havan is for the well-being of the people of all communities. This way, it will ensure their contributions for us,” said Uttam Baba.

The meet, which started on Sunday, is a pre-cursor to a bigger 10-day sammelan, which will be held in the coming month, said secretary

Vidya Kamble

. The meet, which was to conclude by November 21, has been extended for a day. “We will be discussing the arrangements to be made for a bigger sammelan, where we are expecting nearly 1,000 members of the third gender from all over India,” she says.

In the evening, a ritual was performed to mourn the death of Senapati’s guru.

Nitin Raut, who was the chief guest at the cultural programme, said, “Every community has its own rites and rituals, all of which have been recognized and accepted by the Constitution of our country. I’m proud to know that Kinnar samaj’s representatives like Chhattisgarh’s mayor

Madhu Kinnar

, are contesting elections and also winning. Whatever opinion society may hold for the third gender, I feel this community has exemplified what it is like to show goodness even in negative times,” he said.

The late evening programmes were made colorful with the beats of dholak, singing and lavani dancing by the members along with games involving rangoli and musical chair.

“We will also be solving disputes and cases that any member might have,” says Amravati head Sheetal Nayak, adding that no disputes are taken to the police or to the court. “The senior members of the community listen to problems and provide answers. Moreover, seniors underline some guidelines, such as rules for behaving in the public,” she added.

The first day was about get-together for the members. On Tuesday, they will be dressing up like brides and pray for their gurus. It is equivalent to an engagement performed in other communities, said Uttam Baba. “We will end the meet by discussing plans the government has for us, as well as the protest we have planned during the winter session of state assembly to demand reservation,” said Uttam Baba.