Rudrani Chhetri
Birthplace:
New Delhi
Residence:
New Delhi
Qualification:
B.A. (Hons.) English
Inspiration:
Mother and Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi
ALICE IN NOT SO WONDER A LAND!
She is a person with zero regrets. She feels lucky to have been blessed with this life and identity. She has been where no one dares to… She has transcended to become her!
She was born to Bina and Ramesh Chhetri on 3 October 1978 as a male though she loved herself as a female. She liked playing with dolls but wasn’t allowed to, she liked applying her mother’s kohl and lipsticks but wasn’t allowed to. Back then, her innocent mind couldn’t understand the stigma behind her choices. The moment she could understand the difference of genders, she learned to hide it from the patriarchal society. While there was no one to help her solve her confusion, there were many to bully her. She was looked upon with utter disgust and hate.
Equation with family
They say parents are your best friends, they understand you the best. “My parents also understood me but they found satisfaction in living in denial, hopeful that puberty will wash away my habits.”
Rudrani’s mother was very supportive of her; her father, not so much. “He’d shower all his love on his son who behaved like a son (laughs). No one at home, for very long, ever tortured or pressurised me to behave the societal way.”
Things changed gradually and one day, after a great deal of chaos at home, she was asked to leave. “My mother was against it and took a stand against my father’s decision. But when does patriarchy allow you to listen to a woman! Later on, I would get in touch with her sometimes.” Relations have healed and the situation has improved a bit, “but it still is a long way to go….”
She misses her brother the most now. “We were close. He’d always protect and support me but once he got married, I could feel the discomfort his wife had and gradually we grew apart.”
Education is liberty
After schooling, Rudrani opted for a distance course for graduation fearing ragging and bullying. She already had a lot of face and didn’t want to add to it. Her time would go by collecting strength and fighting back rather than focusing on academia. Her mother clarified the importance of education to her very early. “I have come to realise that education isn’t limited to books and classes.” However, getting proper education, she says, was her privilege that many transgender people don’t have. “A good part of my life has passed by in trying to understand myself but one fine day I woke up and realised that self-learning will continue forever. Since I was educated, I decided to utilise it to help the less privileged or manipulated kinners.”
All-round efforts!
Transgender people have, for a long time, lived in fear of blackmail, abuse, rape, extortion, etc. Section 377 of the IPC criminalised the whole LGBTQ+ community. “The day it was repealed, thousands of us breathed freely. It has definitely helped change people’s attitude, at least we have something in our favour now… To begin with, it is a good start!”
Rudrani wants the media to utilise its power to educate people. “See, how comical representation of transgender people has created a mindset. If the same media creates a better image, people will come to agree to it too! At the same time, if we have the right image of transgender people for our kids, maybe the whole upcoming generation will have a better perspective. “We are reduced to thoughtless comical characters or a piece of disgust for the prevailing society, a lot of which is to be blamed on the media.”
She wants the community to be enabled enough to utilise the schemes that the government launches. SMILE, by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Health Ministry, is a provision for transgender people that can aid transition surgeries. The government has opened shelter homes for kids who are discriminated against or are disowned by their parents. “The government provides dustbins but it is up to people to throw garbage inside it.”
She is relieved to see the youngsters stand up for the rights of transgender community and question the orthodox mindset of their families for the benefit of society. “They are the ray of hope for a better tomorrow,” she agrees.
While she appreciates what the government does for them, she isn’t the one to not do something on her own. Rudrani founded the Mitr Trust in 2005 in Delhi. She is associated with some health and development programmes by the UN, Global Fund for Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFTM), INFOSEM, NACO, etc. She participates in training workshops on various topics such as HIV, AIDS, sexuality or any new chapter that is introduced in the field of social welfare.
Whatever she does, the artist in her never sleeps. A model herself, she also provides a platform to other transgender people through her modelling agency that she established in 2015. “It is my way of advocating that here’s one community of marginalised people who can do anything but are not given the opportunities. I also organise camping in Shivpuri, Rishikesh, as I also need to live and I have pledged to live without the things people say transgender people do!”
Rudrani was highly appreciated for her portrayal of Anarkali, a transwoman, in the film The Last Color. “Working with Nina Gupta was a blessing. The director, Chef Vikas Khanna, is an extremely sensitive person. I learnt a lot while working on the film.” She has also delivered a performance in a film made by the Satyajit Ray Institute in Kolkata. She continues to make films, short films and documentaries combining with various media houses and college universities.
The people that make her
She never retires from praising her mother for being there in times when she couldn’t handle things for herself. “Knowing and closely associating with Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi is an experience altogether. She is my mentor, my guru. I first saw her on TV – an NDTV interview – and was impressed with her personality, aura and confidence.” Learning from her, Rudrani too gathered courage enough to adopt a child, she calls him Monu. “I knew I could be a good mother, but never had the courage. Look at him handle all my work affairs now! He is my blessing from above.”
VISION FOR THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY
“Education,” she says, “is the hope. Let the government do whatever it wants, let society play its role, we should educate ourselves to find a place in society. It is our fight, the society is pretty well-educated, we are not!” She believes if the community is well-educated, opportunities will flow and so will acceptance. “I want to use resources like books, documentaries and social media for the benefit of the LGBTQ+ community. A lot can be done!”
MESSAGE FOR THE MAINSTREAM SOCIETY
Rudrani believes life is a mix of colours and just black and white. “Even if it is, black and white also mix up and make a wonderful colour – gray. Society needs to accept all colours. Every marginalised community, including the transgender community, has a lot of potential. In case they survive the pressure, and then get sufficient opportunities and resources, many of them can make the nation proud.”
She believes India’s past has a lot to teach the future. “Our stories from India’s holy scriptures should be picked to incorporate in school and college syllabus so as to tell them about a community that was once immensely respected, offered prayers to, but suddenly is left abused and marginalised.”
FIVE FACTS ABOUT RUDRANI
Education is her strength.
She likes converting a house into a home.
Her pets, Tempo and Pogo, are her love!
A foodie by heart, rajma is her favourite.
She has a lot of tattoos.
