Navya Singh
Birthplace:
Katihar, Bihar
Residence:
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Qualification:
Graduation
Inspiration:
Abhina Aher
POWER, BEAUTY AND A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE
The first of the community to reach the finals of Miss Universe India 2024, the first transperson to win the Dadasaheb Phalke Icon Award Films, a trailblazer in showbiz, she is a TEDx speaker, activist, beauty queen, India’s first transgender model. A trendsetter, she’s devoted to raising the issues related to the community
Life is all about lessons – bitter and pleasant, harrowing and joyous, struggles and success. For Navya Singh, it’s been a rollercoaster she’s taken in her strides, come rain or shine, but she’s never allowed her emotions to bog her down. Focus, courage and determination have been the key elements in her transition from Parminder to Navya Singh.
The story begins when a child was born on 23 December 1989. The family – ancestrally Sikh landowners and village leaders – celebrated the birth of the male child. The father, a journalist, Sardar Surjit Singh, was on cloud nine. The mother, Paramjit Kaur, however, had prayed for a girl and would often dress up Parminder as a girl.
“All the love had diluted by the time I was around 12 years old. I could sense my father’s disappointment with the way I was turning out to be – effeminate and unlike what he had wished for. He would blame my mother for this. His tender and loving touch was replaced by angry thrashings,” recalls Navya.
Paramjit, meanwhile, remained the loving parent she had always been to Navya and her other two sons, Rana and Rahul.
“Mothers know about their children like nobody does. They know that one day their child will be standing at a crossroads having to make a difficult decision that could kick up storms. But they are prepared for it. God has given them that strength and quality,” says Navya.
Her broad-minded mother was way ahead of her times and offered her all emotional support. But nobody else was that broad-minded.
Navya was molested by her friends in class 10 as they wanted to teach her a “lesson on masculinity”. “Abuse is common in the LGBTQIA+ community but I refused to live in fear and told my mother that I could no longer bear to live in a wrong body.”
The city of dreams
Mumbai draws people like a magnet. And that’s what it did to Navya, for whom modelling was a childhood dream that she’d been nurturing ever since she started watching Mai Banungi Miss India, a show on Doordarshan.
To pursue her love for fashion and modelling, and having learned about gender reassignment surgeries, Navya, who was a rather unassuming Parminder until then, moved to the city of dreams – Mumbai – as a 20-year-old.
Seeing her preferences, her maternal aunt in Mumbai arranged psychiatric consultations with an NGO. “I was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, which I naively assumed was an ailment that could be treated with medication.”
Having experienced more during her journey, Navya understood it wasn’t gender dysphoria. “I always knew what my gender identity was. My body had been created differently but I could correct it with medical and surgical intervention,” she says.
By this time, however, her neighbours wanted her to leave their housing society because she was a “poor influence”.
She joined the transgender community and met transgender activists Urmi Jadav and Abhina Aher. “This association with the community brought me closer to the fight for its rights, their lack of awareness of health risks from unprotected sex, and the economic challenges the community faced.”
Meanwhile, in the year 2014, Navya got her gender reassignment surgery done. She decided to empower herself financially and started organising events. She became actively involved in Abhina’s dance troupe. More shows came her way, helping her complete her transition.
By 2016, she had become a known name in the modelling circuit. The next year, she became the first transwoman to walk the ramp at Lakme India Fashion Week. She has also been featured in prominent publications such as Grazia and Cosmopolitan and as a model, has walked for designers like Wendell Rodricks, Archana Kochhar and Akash K. Agarwal.
Navya has been a part of several music videos too. Her television debut came in 2017 with Savdhaan India. She features in Pledge to Protect, a biopic on Anson Thomas who has rescued more than 800 girls from the red-light districts of Kolkata, Pune and Delhi.
She is now the Brand Ambassador of Miss Transqueen, India’s first transgender beauty pageant, since 2018. She is the first trained transgender model to be named Model of the Year 2019 by the Media Federation of India and is the winner of the Top Model–Newsmakers Achievers Awards 2019. The crowning glory came in the shape of the Dadasaheb Phalke Iconic Award Film bestowed upon her in 2021.
Behind the glamour, a healer
“We progress externally, but it does take a toll on our minds. And then, the transgender community faces ridicule and harassment just about anywhere and everywhere. I find my strength in spirituality and nature. And it helps me to heal others further,” she avers.
She has channelised her empathy, clairvoyance and highly intuitive powers to help others. Not many know that she is a certified tarot reader. “I have steeled my mind and heart. I meditate for peace, I can feel the energies of people and places. By the grace of God, I am good at my craft,” she informs.
She credits her success to the kinner community and spares no opportunity to clear misconceptions surrounding this socio-ethnic group. “There is no discrimination due to colour, caste, religion or gender within the community. Everyone is equal.”
Navya has been working with Deepa Ardhnareshwar Trust New Delhi, and the Kinnar Maa Trust, towards empowerment and gender awareness in educational institutions.
“When activists like Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Salma Khan and Abhina took up the cudgels on behalf of the community to pull them out of the margins, they inspired thousands of others to come out of the closet without fear. I also thank the government for its proactive approach,” she says.
Navya is vocal against transphobia in the glamour world. She says there is ample room for transwomen to showcase their acting skills, but they are only handed stereotypical roles.
“Why are cisgender actors portraying transgender roles when you have a pool of talent in the transgender community? If a cisgender can play a transgender, a transgender too can portray cisgender roles with equal flair,” she points out.
With the annulment of Section 377, things have just begun to change. Navya says that many of them face the worst, “but still come up as winners”.
The younger ones, she says, need to stay focused, calm themselves down, find their source of courage and work towards success. “Lead the way and show the world what you are capable of. Show the world that your gender barely matters”
VISION FOR THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY
Health insurance, scholarships for education and skill development are priority schemes she wants to be implemented for transgenders. “Transwomen who are financially stable should come forward to help the deprived members of the community – the tree of love will grow to shelter every transgender person. I wish to see the community become an eco-system that helps not just LGBTQ+ people but other marginalised groups, elders abandoned by families, widows and orphans.” Her interactions with youngsters during gender sensitisation sessions fill her with hope. “Many are highly aware of gender preferences and identity. But then, some find the topic uncomfortable. They start leaving the auditorium in the middle of the session – maybe because they don’t want to be seen at such forums or the topic makes them squeamish.”
MESSAGE FOR THE MAINSTREAM SOCIETY
Navya wanted her parents to be with her in Mumbai while she met doctors and health experts to prepare for her transition. “It was up to them to accept me. My father was quite reluctant at first but when he emerged from the consultation room after an hour of talks, he just held me tightly and broke down. My parents are now my biggest support.” She often narrates this incident to parents of transgender children. “Your children may end up ruining their precious future without your love, care or direction. Stand by them. When nature does not discriminate, why should you?”
FIVE FACTS ABOUT NAVYA
Unable to complete her education back in time, she now gives all her time to studies.
Her emotions often get the better of her, especially when she misses her parents.
Music is her life and her energy.
She is an awesome cook. Her chicken dishes always get great reviews from friends and family. Her personal favourite is rajma chawal (rice with kidney beans in curry).
She strongly believes talent and beauty exist in every form and gender.
