A special priest: Transgender woman priest performs Durga Puja

Baishali's inspiration to become a priest has been her mother from whom she learned all the rules and rituals of performing puja.

Kolkata: Being a transgender might not be a choice always but to come out of the barriers of deterrent social perception and lead a life of his or her own choice certainly demands immense mental courage and Baishali Das – the first transgender priest in West Bengal has broken the corridors of social barriers and created a niche of her own.

She has been performing the Bengali customary rituals so long so far restricted to a certain community thus silently voicing her protest against the traditional caste and gender system still prevalent in the society.

It is true that she might not have hogged the limelight like Nancy Ledins - “America’s first female Roman Catholic priest” and first transgender Roman Catholic priest who was successful in shaking the age old Roman Catholic practice but her lone effort to go against all odds and perform pujas is in itself a silent protest against the unjust theistic habits of the society.

“I used to watch my mother perform the puja of goddess Sitala with deep devotion. It always attracted me. My mother taught me everything about performing puja. Apart from performing Durga Puja, I also perform puja of Mansha and Sitala," said Baishali, fondly recalling her childhood days. She also said that she has been performing pujas since she was 16 years old.

Baishali who didn’t have a formal training in priesthood learned all the rituals from her mother who was an avid devotee of God. “When my mother used to teach me the formalities of puja I learned it only because I had a deep faith and an interest in these rituals. I never wanted to become a priest,” she said.

“Later on I got solely involved in the devotion. I could think of no other things. I wanted to spend time with God because that gave me peace,” Baishali who is by profession a Jatra artist – a traditional design of folk theatre performed mainly in West Bengal and Bangladesh said.

However, she also had apprehensions about whether society will accept her in traditional pujas. She started off as a priest by performing the puja of 'Ardhanareeswara' (half male and half female form of Lord Shiva combined with his consort Parvati).

“Even as the Supreme Court has legally recognised transgenders as the third gender, they are still subjected to mockery. They are not considered to be a part of the society,” said Baishali who is ready take on all odds to pursue with her dreams.

Every day in the morning and in the evening when Baishali clad in saree offers her prayers infront of God in her small room stuffed with furniture, it is perhaps not an effort to create a cosmic path that leads to heaven but it is indomitable effort to break the glass ceiling create a path that leads straight to heart of the people.