The Only Difference is: They Make Castration Look Good

It looks like India's hijras or eunuchs are finally figuring out ways to improve their image. For those of you who don't know - a eunuch is a castrated male. And, believe me, as a child, when you're accosted by them, you can be deeply traumatized. From Things Asian (the above link):

Caked in cheap rouge, kajal, powder and lipstick, they dress in ill-fitting blouses and colourful saris in a grotesque parody of womanhood as they roam the busy marketplaces in groups, terrorizing pedestrians, hustling for ten or a hundred rupees. These are not your average beggars on the street. With male voices shouting expletives, palms meeting crossways in a trademark clap, they prey on susceptible passersby, who will part with their cash sooner than be treated to the sight of the group collectively lifting up their saris and flashing castrated genital areas right in their faces.

And as you get older, and more thick-skinned, you are no longer "terrorized" by them, but just plain irritated at their obnoxious behavior. And to further confound things, if you refuse them money when they come to beg to you then they start screaming expletives at the top of their voices. And, Bombay eunuchs know expletives that would make your average dhobi blush. Man, can they curse! They, of course, use this strategy so you'll be embarrased into eventually giving them some money.

Sometimes, they will come and sit next to you in a public bus and start harrasing you for money. It's a good strategy, because in a crowded bus, there's no place to escape. This happened to a particularly thick-skinned friend of mine once. The eunuch , of course, sat down and then proceeded to ask him for money. And, as is the usual tactic, (s)he started to touch him. At first by tapping his shoulder and then going on to stroke his thigh. My friend, definitely not the meek sort, decided to turn the hijra's strategy back onto him. He promptly stood up and started screaming expletives at him/her loudly, all the while proclaiming that (s)he was making passes at him. The hijra, was shocked (never having had to face his/her own crude behavior, I guess), that (s)he was basically rendered impotent powerless and (s)he more or less scrambled to get off at the next stop. If (s)he had not done that, then the people in the bus would probably have pummelled him/her. Bombayites, you see, just need an excuse to get their frustrations out. It's the nature of the city - frustrated, fast-paced, always hungry, always wanting more. Well, there's a good side too, but that's for another post.

So, you get the idea of how obnoxious these eunuchs can get. These days, political correctness has not escaped even them, because they no longer wish to be called hijras, but prefer the term aruvani. And from this BBC article, it seems they want to tone down the level of obnoxious-ness.

"If necessary we will dress down, tone down our speech, even desist from the commonly misunderstood practice of 'clapping' and negotiate with people in work and social settings."

That's definitely a good thing. Being of the academic persuasion however, I am burdened by my conscience to be objective, and the onus of presenting both sides of the story lies on me. So, despite being personally traumatized by them on numerous occasions, I have to say that they are a misunderstood bunch. To the best of my knowledge, they're supposed to be holy and there's even a temple in central India which an uncle of mine - a sexologist - visited, where they peform the castration rituals. Of course, the only way you're allowed to get in there, is if you're a participant! My uncle refused and not too long afterwards, he had his third child...you do the math.

Anyhow, there are several resources on the Indian eunuchs online. You can click here, or here, or even here. There's even a Hijra Research Blog on Blogger here. Enjoy.