Laxmi Narayan Tripathi(known asLaxmi,sometimes transliterated asLakshmi) is atransgender/Hijrarights activist, bollywood actress,Bharatanatyamdancer, choreographer and motivational speaker in Mumbai,India.She is also the AcharyaMahamandaleshwarof kinnar akhada.[2][3]She was born in Malti Bai Hospital on 13th Dec 1978 inThane.She is the first transgender person to representAsia Pacificin theUNin 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.[4]She was a contestant on the popular reality showBigg Bossin 2011. Her efforts helped the first Transgender team to scale a Himalayan peak (Friendship peak) in 2020.
Laxmi Narayan Tripathi | |
|---|---|
 Tripathi in 2012 | |
| Born | 1978[1] Thane,Maharashtra,India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Early life
editLaxmi was the eldest born who was assigned male at birth into an orthodoxBrahminfamily in Thane, Maharashtra. After completing her schooling at Smt Sulochanadevi Singhania School Thane, she acquired an arts degree from Mumbai'sMithibai Collegeand a postgraduate degree inBharatnatyam.[5]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.She starred in severalKen Ghoshdance videos and became a choreographer herself.[4]
In a video for Project Bolo she recalls meeting the first PhD trans student in India, Shabira.[6]She met thehijracommunity 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 asMaharashtrahome ministerRR Patildecided 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.[4]
Activism
editLaxmi has served on the boards of several NGOs which conduct LGBT activist work.[7]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.[4]This organization works to promote the welfare of sexual minorities, their support and development.[8][9]
Soon after, she left India for the first time and headed toToronto,Canadafor an Asia Pacific sex workers network. Her passport stated that she was a "female, transgender, and eunuch".[6]
When Kavi started to appealSection 377 of the Indian Penal Code,which made homosexuality a crime, Laxmi joined his team. During a press conference with the media andZee TV,she appeared in full makeup and women's clothing. Her parents found out about her association with thehijracommunity. It was shocking news to her parents as they were looking into marriage proposals. In an interview withBBC,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?"[4]
In April 2014, Indian Supreme Court recognized transgender rights, officially recognizing them as athird gender,which gave relief to an estimated 3 million people withinIndia.[10]Laxmi along with a legal agency had petitioned the court to recognizetransgenderas 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.[5]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 sex reassignment surgery, identify with their gender.[10]
In popular culture
edit
Laxmi frequently gives interviews and otherwise represents theLGBTQIA+community in popular media. Laxmi has starred in several TV shows. She was a participant in the Indian television showBigg Boss 5.She was evicted after six weeks.[11]She also starred inSach Ka SamnawithRajeev Khandelval,[12]10 Ka DumwithSalman KhanandRaaz Pichle Janam Ka.
InSach 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 abouthijras and the myths surrounding them.[6]
Laxmi starred in an award-winning documentary in 2005,Between the Lines: India's Third Gender.[13]
Tripathi is featured inProject Bolo,a documentary series about LGBT Indians that has been released on DVD.[citation needed]
In 2011 Laxmi starred inQueens! Destiny Of Dance,an award-winning Bollywood movie abouthijras that garnered rave reviews.[citation needed]
Laxmi co-wrote her biography,Red Lipstick,with Pooja Pande. The book was published by Penguin in 2016.[14]
Personal life
editInBigg Boss,Tripathi said she had been in a relationship with a man for two years.[15]She is currently engaged to Indian trans man bodybuilder Aryan Pasha.[16]She has adopted two children and lives in Thane.[17]
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 thehijracommunity for her speaking out and meetingSalman Rushdie.[citation needed]
Awards
edit- Awarded 'Indian of the Year 2017'.[18]
Television
edit| Year | Shows | Role | Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Bigg Boss 5 | Celebrity Contestant | Colors TV | Evicted in 6th Week Day 42 |
References
edit- ^"Laxmi Narayan Tripathi: The activist who fought against all odds for social change".18 November 2021.
- ^टाइम्स, नवभारत (7 February 2019)."किन्नर अखाड़े पर डाक टिकट जारी, दो महंत बने महामंडलेश्वर".नवभारत टाइम्स(in Hindi).Archivedfrom the original on 23 January 2021.Retrieved15 January2021.
- ^"Kumbh Mela 2019: अब तक 13 अखाड़े कुंभ में होते थे शामिल, पहली बार किन्नर अखाड़े की एंट्री, जानें इनकी खासियत".hindi.timesnownews(in Hindi). Archived fromthe originalon 21 January 2021.Retrieved15 January2021.
- ^abcdeMehra, Preeti (25 April 2014)."A free country, again".The Hindu Business Line.Archivedfrom the original on 8 July 2021.Retrieved23 December2015.
- ^ab"We too are human beings: Transgender activist Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis".27 April 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 15 October 2017.Retrieved14 October2017.
- ^abc"Project Bolo - Laxmi Narayan Tripathi".Vimeo.Archivedfrom the original on 11 September 2018.Retrieved14 October2017.
- ^Singh, Divyesh (10 March 2008)."The third gender rises to a social challenge".dnaindia.Archivedfrom the original on 5 January 2012.Retrieved30 January2012.
- ^"MSMGF GLOBAL DIRECTORY LISTING".Archived fromthe originalon 29 November 2014.Retrieved15 November2014.
- ^Knowing Laxmi Narayan Tripathi- Interviewed by Sandhya Dangwal (12),30 March 2013,archivedfrom the original on 7 May 2017,retrieved8 July2021
- ^abGeorge, Nirmala (15 April 2014)."India's Supreme Court recognizes 'transgender' as third gender".Archivedfrom the original on 15 October 2017.Retrieved14 October2017.
- ^"Pooja Missra might win Bigg Boss 5: Laxmi - Hindustan Times".hindustantimes.13 November 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 18 January 2012.Retrieved30 January2012.
- ^"Eunuch inspires on Sach ka Saamna".The Times of India.Archivedfrom the original on 4 December 2013.
- ^"Between the Lines: India's Third Gender".31 August 2006.Archivedfrom the original on 9 February 2017.Retrieved14 October2017– via imdb.
- ^Tripāṭhī, Lakshmīnārāyaṇa (August 2017).Red lipstick: the men in my life.Penguin Books, Limited.ISBN978-0-14-342593-9.OCLC1049173440.Archivedfrom the original on 8 July 2021.Retrieved8 July2021.
- ^"Laxmi Narayan Tripathi talk about her relationship on Bigg Boss 5".Metro Masti.Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^"Queer love story of Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and bodybuilder Aryan Pasha".Mid-day.8 September 2019.Retrieved28 July2024.
- ^"Interview with Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and her mother".UNAIDS Asia-Pacific.13 February 2015.Retrieved28 July2024.
- ^Zia (26 July 2017)."Indian of the Year 'A Huge Success'".Brands Academy.Archived fromthe originalon 28 July 2017.