Bangalore's First Ever Transgender Arts Festival Kicks Off Today; Here's An Interview With The Organiser

Many people might say that being a transgender person in India automatically translates to performance of a certain kind considering their body as it doesn’t fit the binary. The artists in the upcoming festival in Bangalore leave their gender behind when it comes to expressing emotions poets have immortalized centuries ago.
Probably a first in the country to be done on such a scale, The International Arts and Culture Foundation(IACF) in Bangalore is hosting The International Transgender Arts Festival (TITAF). From 29th to 31st July, the National Gallery of Modern Art will showcase these performances and entry is free for all. Narthaki Nataraj, who is a mainstream Bharatnatyam dancer in Chennai and an ‘A’ top grade artist of Doordarshan will be performing on the last day of the festival. She is an empanelled artist of ICCR, Ministry of External Affairs and also the winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi award besides having the Nrithya Choodamani title. Accompanying her in the festival are other artists like Manjamma Jogithi who is a Kannada Rajyotsava awardee. She and Rammava Jogithi will be performing with their 10-member team of the Jogappa Community of Bellary and Bagalkot districts. They will perform the ritual dance Jogithi Nritya as the transgender Devadasis of Karnataka by placing the idol of their goddess Yelamma on top of their heads and dancing to Choudike Padha. They are known for their public performances in village festivals.

While Narthaki Nataraj is a mainstream and sought after nayika for her exceptional essaying of feminine roles, Singapore’s icon Maalika Ganesh Panicker has a different story to tell. In an interview with the Times of India, she spoke about her struggle of becoming the famous Mohiniattam dancer she is today. ‘Born in rural Kerala, it was Ganesh’s boyhood dream to take on the form of mohini, the ultimate temptress, in dance. But there is only so far you can go in Mohiniyattam with a male body — this is one dance totally devoid of men. “So I learnt Bharatanatyam at Kalakshetra where there is greater possibility for male dancers. It wasn’t until later, when I moved to Singapore, which pioneered gender reassignment surgery, that I was able to take up Mohiniyattam as a woman,” Maalika said in the interview.
The interview also carried the story of Narthaki who was born Nataraj. ‘Nataraj’s own transition to Narthaki started when the agonized seven year old, born in a conservative Madurai family, realized his disconnect with boys his age. He also developed an irrepressible urge to dance. The family, distressed over his apparent femininity, would have none of it.’ But there were always Tamil films with their vivid quasi-Bharatanatyam dances to watch. Vyjayanthimala, particularly, had him riveted.
He began a covert search for a guru along with trans friend and co-conspirator, Sakthi, without the family’s knowledge. The two managed to take dance lessons with a guru from distant Sivaganga. But to make the definitive shift to Narthaki, it took 14 years of tenacious learning with legendary Guru Kittappa Pillai, who dealt with the youngster’s gender dilemmas with great compassion,’ the report by TOI stated.
The man behind this festival that has created a national stir ever since its announcement is the founder of ICAF Srivatsa Shandilya. A media photographer for two and a half decades, he was attracted towards covering arts and culture festival and began the organization to promote it on an international level. He felt that there was a dearth in the promotion of arts and started this foundation. In an Interview with Homegrown, he said, “the first thing someone from outside India sees is the Arts and Culture of the country. For me, Art doesn’t have a gender. We had organized a performance last year with a Singapore based artist here and it didn’t get noticed. She was the one who gave me this idea. With an Exclusive Trans Arts festival, people will notice what this community can do. Through this we want to promote them and get them slots in other cultural festivals in India. By showcasing their talent on this platform, we are also getting other community members to retain their interests in the art,” he said. Shandilya said that ever since this festival has been publicized, members from the transgender community have been calling him and telling him about their passions. “I am getting calls from artists, painters, photographers and more who wish to showcase their talent as well. I hope this festival encourages them to continue their work and keep their interest in their art alive,” he said.
Shandilya has also seen interest from the Indian government and the Karnataka government to encourage these performers. “We have many cultural centres in the country and we don’t have a complete database of transgender artists. I believe this festival will be a game changer in getting transgender artists the exposure they deserve and create a database for them as well,” he said.
He knows that members of the Jogappa community are feeling very proud and confident about sharing their culture on stage. The festival also includes Kuchipudi artist Varsha Vardhanaa who will be coming down from Malaysia to give the audience a memorable performance. Lakshya from the famous Kalakshetra Foundation and Academy in Chennai will present Bharatnatyam and Vasuki from Trichy will sing in her famous dual voice at the festival. There will also be a screening of the national award winning Kannada film Naanu Avanalla Avalu (I am not he, I am) directed by BS Lingadevaru.

Most of these artists were born men and felt stifled in the body that felt alien to them. By finding an outlet that justifies gender fluidity and expression of every lived reality through their body, these artists are transcending the gendered glass ceiling by being exceptional at what they do.
Read more about the artists here and get the event details here.

Feature Image Courtesy: Srivatsa Shandilya and International Arts and Culture Foundation

Words: Preksha Malu