“Transgender communities have existed in our society despite continued marginalisation they face from mainstream society. They have created a world of their own comprising of relationships, unusual means of livelihood and importantly an identity which constantly underlines their exclusion.”

An exhibition of photographs by the transgender community of Delhi ran from May 5th to 23rd at Max Mueller Bhawan's Siddartha Hall in New Delhi. Parthiv Shah, Director at the Centre for Media and Alternative Communication (CMAC) wrote to me asking if a selection of those exhibited images could find their way on Tiffinbox. I promised to post them here in the beginning of June and well, it's July 1st today. I suppose it's better late than never.

When Parthiv wrote to me, I was reminded of Dayanita Singh's landmark documentary work “Myself Mona Ahmed”. I found it to be a sad book, but Dayanita's humane view of one transgender person's life helped me peel away some of the built-in stereotypes [and as Parthiv says – stigmas] I had stored in my mind.

Well, this collection of 20 images you are about to see will hopefully motivate you to shed your fears, anxieties and insecurities about hijras, or transgender people.

Thoughtful and sincere comments are always welcome.

[Read more…]

From Mahesh Bhat

We Indians lack role models other than movie stars, cricketers and models. Our children aspire to be part of the fast moving, fast spending society without realising our responsibility towards the society in any manner. But there are a handful of women and men, seemingly ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary things and helped the society around them. These women and men hold the fabric of our society with their vision and action. They have for decades done selfless service and given extra ordinary gifts to the country. They live away from the limelight yet unknowingly their work touches us. “Heroes” is a book about such people. It is a celebration of the life and work of 15 “Heroes” of India.

We have researched and identified these people from across India, from Thrissur to Ladakh and Manipal to Orissa.

Tulasi Munda of Orissa taught herself to read and write and has provided free education to the tribal children for the last 30 years. Vijayanath Shenoy of Manipal had to pawn his wife’s jewellery in his quest to conserve the vanishing architectural heritage of the coastal Karnataka. Chewang Norphel, a 69-year young retired engineer of Leh – Ladakh builds artificial glaciers to solve the water scarcity in the Ladakh region.

The book will consist of evocative B&W photographs by Mahesh Bhat and text by the well-known journalist Anita Pratap. Currently corporations such as Infosys, DSL software have booked and paid for copies in advance and hence support the project. The book is expected to be launched in mid 2006. The physical size will about 9”X9” and will consist of about 108-120 pages. A portion of the profits from the book will be donated to the cause of the Heroes featured in the book.

Please support the project by reserving your copies in advance at a special price of US$19 per book. This includes the cost of delivery. Please make your checks in the name of “Heroes of India Project” and send them to:

Heroes of India Project,
C/o Mahesh Bhat
Arora Business Centre
Dickenson Road
Bangalore-560042
India

For more information or questions and comments, email Mahesh at the following addresses: mahesh[at]maheshbhat[dot]com or heroesofindia[at]yahoo[dot]com.