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Laxmi Narayan Tripathi (known as Laxmi, sometimes transliterated as Lakshmi) is a
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
/
Hijra
Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to:
Islam
* Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE
* Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
rights activist, bollywood actress,
Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...
dancer, choreographer and motivational speaker in Mumbai,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. She is also the Acharya
Mahamandaleshwar
''Mahamandaleshwar'' (or ''Maha Mandaleshwar'') is a title used by some Hindu monks of the Dashanami order of swamis, founded by Shankaracharya. The world Mahamandaleshwar means "superior of great and/or numerous monasteries" or "superior of a re ...
of kinnar akhada. She was born in Malti Bai Hospital on 13th Dec 1978 in
Thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...
. She is the first transgender person to represent
Asia Pacific
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Is ...
in the
UN in 2008. At the assembly, she spoke of the plight of sexual minorities. "People should be more human-like. They should respect us as humans and consider our rights as transgenders," she said.
She was a contestant on the popular reality show ''
Bigg Boss
''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...
'' in 2011. Her efforts helped the first Transgender team to scale a Himalayan peak (Friendship peak) in 2020.
Early life
Laxmi was the eldest born who was assigned male at birth into an orthodox
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
family in Thane, Maharashtra. After completing her schooling at Smt Sulochanadevi Singhania School Thane, she acquired an arts degree from Mumbai's
Mithibai College
The Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan Institute of Science & Amruthben Jivanlal College of Commerce and Economics is a college affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The college was established in 1961 in Vile Parle, Mumbai by Shri Vile Parle ...
and a postgraduate degree in
Bharatnatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...
.
Often being told she was gay and being called "homo", in about grade 5 Laxmi sought out the only gay person she knew,
Ashok Row Kavi
Ashok Row Kavi is an Indian journalist and LGBT rights activist.
Life
He was born in Mumbai on 1 June 1947. He graduated with honours in Chemistry from the University of Bombay. Later, he dropped out of engineering college. Due to his early ...
. She starred in several
Ken Ghosh
Ken Ghosh is an Indian Hindi film
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Boll ...
dance videos and became a choreographer herself.
In a video for Project Bolo she recalls meeting the first PhD trans student in India, Shabira.
She met the
hijra
Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to:
Islam
* Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE
* Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
community through Shabira and soon after became a bar dancer. She was famous for having admirers across the city watch her dance. However, this was short-lived as
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
home minister
RR Patil
Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, better known as R. R. Patil (16 August 1957 – 16 February 2015) was an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He was an MLA for Tasgaon vidhan sabha constituency from 1991 to 2015. He was an important le ...
decided to shut down the city's dance bars. Laxmi organized protests against this move. The dancers lost, but Laxmi got her first taste for activism.
Activism
Laxmi has served on the boards of several NGOs which conduct LGBT activist work. In 2002 she became president of the NGO DAI Welfare Society, the first registered and working organization for eunuchs in South Asia. In 2007 she started her own organization, Astitiva.
This organization works to promote the welfare of sexual minorities, their support and development.
Soon after, she left India for the first time and headed to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
for an Asia Pacific sex workers network. Her passport stated that she was a female, transgender, and eunuch.
When Kavi started to appeal
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
Section 377 of the British colonial penal code criminalized all sexual acts "against the order of nature". The law was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity. The penal code remains in many former col ...
, which made homosexuality a crime, Laxmi joined his team. During a press conference with the media and
Zee TV
Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...
, she appeared in full makeup and women's clothing. Her parents found out about her association with the ''hijra'' community. It was shocking news as her parents were looking into marriage proposals. In an interview with
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, her father was asked about his thoughts on his child's sexuality he responded, "if my child was handicapped, would you even ask me whether I’d have asked him to leave home? And just because his sexual orientation is different?"
In April 2014 Indian Supreme Court recognized transgender rights, officially recognizing them as a
third gender
Third gender is a concept in which individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It is also a social category present in societies that recognize three or more genders. The term ''third'' is usually ...
, which gives relief to an estimated 3 million people within
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Laxmi along with a legal agency had petitioned the court to recognize
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
as a third category on all documents. Alongside this recognition, the courts have ordered the government to provide quotas in jobs and education similar to the ones for other minority groups in India.
Governments were also ordered by apex courts to construct third washrooms and create health departments to care for transsexual medical needs. They will also be entitled to adopt children and, after reassignment surgery, identify with their gender of choice.
In popular culture
Laxmi frequently gives interviews and otherwise represents the
LGBTQIA+
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is an ...
community in popular media. Laxmi has starred in several TV shows. She was a participant in the Indian television show ''
Bigg Boss 5
''Bigg Boss 5'' is the fifth season of the Indian reality TV show ''Bigg Boss'', which aired on Colors TV from 2 October 2011 to 7 January 2012 with Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan as the hosts.
During the launch on 2 October, fourteen hand-picke ...
''. She was evicted after six weeks. She also starred in ''
Sach Ka Samna Sach may refer to:
* Sach people, an ethnic group of Vietnam
* Sach language, an Austroasiatic language
* Saj, Iran, also known as Sach, a village in Iran
* Sač, a utensil used in Balkan cuisine
People with the name
* Sach, member of the hip-h ...
'' with
Rajeev Khandelval Rājīv (Devanagari: राजीव, Bengali script: রাজীব) is a popular Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Nepalese male name, also spelt Rajeev, Rajive, Rajib, Rajeeb, Rajiva and Rajiba.
It is said that the lotus flower (''Nelumbo nuc ...
,
10 Ka Dum with
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
and ''Raaz Pichle Janam Ka''.
In ''Sach Ka Samna,'' it was the first time India saw a transgender person on TV with their parents. Which allowed for there to be an open conversation about ''hijra''s and the myths surrounding them.
Laxmi starred in an award-winning documentary in 2005, ''Between the Lines: India's Third Gender''.
Tripathi is featured in ''Project Bolo'', a documentary series about LGBT Indians that has been released on DVD.
In 2011 Laxmi starred in ''
Queens! Destiny Of Dance'', an award-winning Bollywood movie about ''hijra''s that garnered rave reviews.
Laxmi co-wrote her biography, ''Red Lipstick'', with Pooja Pande. The book was published by Penguin in 2016.
Personal life
In ''Bigg Boss'', Tripathi said she had been in a relationship with a man for two years. She is currently engaged to Indian transmale bodybuilder Aryan Pasha and the two have been narrating their tale of pious togetherness with pride all over the social media. She has adopted two children and lives in Thane.
She told Project Bolo that she got breast augmentation but did not receive any hormone therapy. She told them she got a lot of backlash from the ''hijra'' community for her speaking out and meeting
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...
.
Awards
* Awarded 'Indian of the Year 2017'.
Criticisms and controversies
Laxmi was criticised by the queer community for her comments on the Ram mandir construction in Ayodhya. "Being a dominant caste ''Brahmin'' transwoman, she appeals to the ''Hindutva'' ideology and justifies the existence of caste system in India ever since she started aspiring for a political position in the current ruling party," reads the joint statement issued by the community.
Laxmi supported Akshay Kumar in launching ''
Laxmmi Bomb'' which was criticized by the trans community for being transphobic and misogynistic.
In April 2021, during India's second COVID wave, Laxmi was criticized by the Indian Queer community for her hypocrisy. Laxmi started a Covid relief crowdfunding campaign, a week after she violated all the COVID precautions by gathering thousands of people at ''
Kumbh Mela
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad ( ...
''. Upon being held responsible for her actions, her then partner resorted to verbal abuse on social media.
Television
References
External links
Laxmi's interview on gender and sexuality
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripathi, Laxmi Narayan
Indian LGBT entertainers
Indian LGBT actors
Indian LGBT rights activists
Hijra (South Asia) people
Transgender rights activists
Transgender women
Living people
LGBT Hindus
Bigg Boss (Hindi TV series) contestants
1979 births