With no dear ones and no government aid, Onam was worse for transgenders

Onam, a celebration of togetherness turned out to be a confined one in the wake of COVID 19. It was worse for the transgender community with no dear ones and no government aid.

Malappuram: Onam is a celebration of togetherness, fun and feasts for Keralites. But this time, it was a completely unfamiliar, unprecedented one for everyone in Kerala, especially for the transgenders.

With the COVID 19 pandemic obstructing all possibilities of being together, Keralites missed the annual celebration of getting together with their families and friends, sharing happiness and joy. As the Onam was celebrated without any hype, in a limited manner, owing to the COVID scare, people confined to the celebrations to their homes, posting family pictures of Onam in social media.

However, the festive days of Onam amid COVID passed on for many without being able to buy new clothes, arrange floral carpets or relish Onasadhya (Onam feast) with families. On the other hand, transgenders, who are abandoned from their families and isolated from the society, celebrated their Onam in lodge rooms.

In an interaction with ETV Bharat reporter, Monisha Shekar said "We need jobs to feed ourselves. Abandoned by family, stigmatised by society, we are left to sleep in the streets now, being unable to pay rent".

Stigmatised by society for their own identity, the transgenders are also isolated during celebrations and festivals. No one joins them in their happiness and festivities. With hardly any aid from the Government, this Onam was an extra struggle for the transgenders. They celebrated Onam in their own way, in the absence of their dear ones around, but cherishing the memories with their families.