Aravan’s Bride

The dramatic ruins of Hampi, in sync with the unabashedly grandiose sweep of Sumitra’s poses, work just fine as a fitting metaphor for her life. Together, the ruins and Sumitra, born Chandru, make up The 8th Wonder, a collection of 53 photographs by Bang­a­lore-based K. Venkat­esh. Weary of touri­sty snapshots, the photojournalist’s endeavour was to project Hampi differently. His exertions have resulted in the remains of the Vijayanagara empire, our link to an epic symmetry, morphing into a symbol of transgender assertion.

Shot over two days in July this year, The 8th Wonder was exhibited in Bangalore last month at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat to an encouraging turnout. Across the photoscape, Sumitra essays her point in 13 different ways—in flowing anarkalis, in colourful Kan­jee­var­ams, bright western outfits. In one frame, decked in a parrot green sari, she is leaning pensively against a giant rock in the foreground, an ancient gopuram rising from the greens in the background against a cloudy sky. In another low-angle shot, strutting model-like in front of a temple complex, in figure-hugging black dress, dark glasses on, hand on hip, heady mass of black curls framing her face, she could well be the very antithesis of the devadasi, or her insouciant modern avatar.

If such confidence is unfamiliar territory for Sumitra, it doesn’t show. Except when she narrates the story of her life. “I was born into a poor Dalit family, with eight siblings, and we used to make incense sticks for a living. Ever since I can remember, I felt like a girl, taking particular interest in household work, unlike my brothers. I got my sex change operation done when I was 13. Though my mother supported me, my brothers locked her up and threw me out of the house, even as I was recovering from my surgery. I slept on the road for three days, starving.” A friend took her in, and she made her living as a sex worker in Bangalore. “Harassment from people on the street, the men I had sex with, was routine. I cried myself to sleep every night. Alcohol helped ease some of the pain.” Now 35, Sumitra has started taking on small projects as an independent social worker, helping the homeless, the HIV-infected and others in the transgender community. “My effort is to emphasise the lack of opportunities and education for the transgender community. Why do they mostly end up doing sex work or begging? They are talented too, and can make a mark in the arts—dance, painting, music—if given a cha­nce. The government needs to pay attention to our cause, offer us jobs,” she says.

When Venka­tesh approached her for the project, Sumitra saw it as a way to espouse her cause. But it turned out to mean much more than that. “I felt awkward in front of the camera, but after each day of the shoot, I’d come back to the hotel and reflect on my life. When you look at Hampi from a dista­nce, it looks beautiful, as I do. Up close, it’s broken, in ruins, just like me.”