TG
TG... these 2 letters may mean nothing to a lay person, but the professionals working in my sector know perfectly what these stand for.
I was in Aundh buying stuff for Kabir. Cloths, toys, usual. We were done, so we came out of the shop and standing there, thinking what to eat for dinner. It was about 9 PM and fairly crowded as we were in a prime locality of the town. We gazed the road as some sudden running and noises appeared from a corner of the street. A family, 3 kids, 2 women and a guy were loudly arguing something and all of a sudden, the man started running on the street, possibly towards someone. Shouting at him (her!). I could see, a Transgender woman was walking down the street, away from the family. She was looking happy, must have got some cash. She was a thin tall person, draped in green sari- not so vivid, but a dull cotton sari, even though TG not so sharp looking (TGs i have met are extremely sharp and well put, I won't say well behaved though!). The man, running for her, finally caught her, held her hand firmly and started yelling on top of his voice, mostly to create scene. In about a few minutes, there were men all around her, beating her, pulling her hair and cloths. Finally they threw her on the footpath, removed all (ALL) her cloths and kept abusing and shouting.
The TG had asked for some money. When the family gave out 10 Rs, the family lady had held a note of 500 Rs. as well. The TG snatched it from her. When they demanded to give it back, she tore it in 2 pieces and gave it back. This is the man's version of the story. We could not (or to be frank did not) hear her version of the story.
In no time, 2 police officers came by, beat her up again and left her. The case closed there, for the man, the police and public. For her...?
What was I in all this. A passerby... an onlooker.... just any other guy in the crowd?
Yes, i stood their, frozen, looking at the scene, helpless. I could have done something to save that lady. I could have gotten in between to at least ease it up, but i didn't.
There was a time when it was above my head, so I called a few people. Tried getting some help for her. There are organizations working for the TGs in Pune city. I was hoping somebody will come and help her, may be not in crisis, but at least after trauma help.
The organization denied, saying "She must not be a real TG. Must be a temporary mangti who was trying to steal or something. We can not get into it and disrupt our reputation."
They sounded just like me!!
TG... these 2 letters may mean nothing to a lay person, but the professionals working in my sector know perfectly what these stand for.
I was in Aundh buying stuff for Kabir. Cloths, toys, usual. We were done, so we came out of the shop and standing there, thinking what to eat for dinner. It was about 9 PM and fairly crowded as we were in a prime locality of the town. We gazed the road as some sudden running and noises appeared from a corner of the street. A family, 3 kids, 2 women and a guy were loudly arguing something and all of a sudden, the man started running on the street, possibly towards someone. Shouting at him (her!). I could see, a Transgender woman was walking down the street, away from the family. She was looking happy, must have got some cash. She was a thin tall person, draped in green sari- not so vivid, but a dull cotton sari, even though TG not so sharp looking (TGs i have met are extremely sharp and well put, I won't say well behaved though!). The man, running for her, finally caught her, held her hand firmly and started yelling on top of his voice, mostly to create scene. In about a few minutes, there were men all around her, beating her, pulling her hair and cloths. Finally they threw her on the footpath, removed all (ALL) her cloths and kept abusing and shouting.
The TG had asked for some money. When the family gave out 10 Rs, the family lady had held a note of 500 Rs. as well. The TG snatched it from her. When they demanded to give it back, she tore it in 2 pieces and gave it back. This is the man's version of the story. We could not (or to be frank did not) hear her version of the story.
In no time, 2 police officers came by, beat her up again and left her. The case closed there, for the man, the police and public. For her...?
What was I in all this. A passerby... an onlooker.... just any other guy in the crowd?
Yes, i stood their, frozen, looking at the scene, helpless. I could have done something to save that lady. I could have gotten in between to at least ease it up, but i didn't.
There was a time when it was above my head, so I called a few people. Tried getting some help for her. There are organizations working for the TGs in Pune city. I was hoping somebody will come and help her, may be not in crisis, but at least after trauma help.
The organization denied, saying "She must not be a real TG. Must be a temporary mangti who was trying to steal or something. We can not get into it and disrupt our reputation."
They sounded just like me!!
I read all your posts here, but thought I'd comment on this one.
ReplyDeleteI've thought so many times that our work isolates us from the communities, instead of bringing us closer to them. Our jargon - KP, TG, FSW, MSM - are just tools for isolating ourselves from the ground, nothing else.
This story reflected exactly that.