by PAROMITA PAIN
Kalki Subramaniam’s video project for transgender women in India began with her own scholarship in video making. Now she’s assisting other transgender women to shoot their own video as a way of breaking out of poverty and abuse.
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Unlike Kalki Subramaniam–who goes by two names and has always had her family’s support when she needed it–none of the filmmakers uses more than one name.
Transgender women here are often forced out of their families and left to find whatever way they can to survive. Many, according to Subramanian, join other transgendered women who, by long tradition in South India, form a familial structure under a “mother” figure. To forge a new identity many take on female names and often conceal their surnames as a safeguard against harassment.
One of the filmmakers who spoke with Women’s eNews is Kanchana.
“I live in a slum,” she said. “For years my identity was a transgender who begged for a living. The day they saw the camera, instead of my begging bowl, it changed people’s reactions towards me forever.”
Another filmmaker, Sandhya, says her family is more accepting of her now that she has proved she has a “talent.”
Breaking the Cycle
Subramaniam runs the video-making Project Kalki as part of the Chennai-based Sahodari Foundation, which she founded in 2005 to provide transgender advocacy. The foundation runs on the help of a few private donors and Subramaniam’s proceeds from her speaking engagements and awareness programs.
“The ultimate aim is to make sure these girls get jobs as journalists or filmmakers. It will help them break out their cycle of poverty and abuse,” said Subramaniam, who met with Women’s eNews in her combined office and residence.
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