Transgenders now play female roles in Yakshagana

Offers have begun to pour in for a group of eight members of the transgender community who staged a two-hour Yakshagana play ‘Shwetha Kumar’ recently in Karkala, with the support of district administration.

“Transgender Yakshagana artistes who play the roles of female characters are now highly sought after,” district women and child development department deputy director B H Krishnappa told DH.

Close on the heels of Udupi deputy commissioner Kurma Rao M launching a campaign to empower members of transgender community, the women and child development department decided to train members of transgender community in Yakshagana.

Incentive for training

In order to enrol transgender people into Yakshagana classes (Badaguthitthu style of Yakshagana), the department offered an incentive of Rs 10,000 at the end of the month-long training. Eight members of the transgender community began attending classes.

“All our apprehensions were swept away when we realised that members of the transgender community are natural actors,” Krishnappa said.

Initiatives being planned by the district administration to help members of the transgender community eke out a living include a proposal for setting up an unit to make paper bags from areca sheaths, Rao said.

Once approved by the government, this unit will employ members of the transgender community to make plates, cups and bags from areca sheaths, he said.

“So far, 183 transgenders have been identified in the district and 49 people have received identity cards. But many are in possession of Aadhaar cards as it is secure and does not reveal their identity,” Krishnappa said.

The DC has issued directions to officials to consider the Aadhaar card and an affidavit for issuing ID cards.

Housing scheme

The district administration had collected applications from 45 transgender beneficiaries for the housing scheme.

But approval for the sites is pending with the government, sources said.

Not many members of the transgender community have evinced interest in government-sponsored schemes, they said.

According to transgender people Sanjeev Vandse and Sudarshan alias Sandhya, most members of the community are addicted to liquor.

They engage themselves in begging and flesh trade to raise money to buy liquor.

Lauding the DC’s initiatives for their community, they stressed on the need for another survey of transgenders in the district.