Ippadikku Rose

Ippadikku Rose

Star Vijay is set to beam a new talk show "Ippadikku Rose" (Yours truly, Rose), which will focus on social issues such as discrimination, child abuse and social taboos. How is this any different from Oprah, you say? For starters, Rose is no ordinary woman, she is India's first transgender TV anchor. Surprised? Well, I am - that the ultra conservative Tamil society is the first to announce something like this.

Actually, it shouldn't come as such a big surprise. All transvestites/eunuchs/transgender folks gather at the Koothandavar temple in Vilupuram district of TamilNadu for an annual festival where they get "married" to the diety there (Koothandavar is a transgender god himself). Given that this is the only place in India that these misunderstood and mistreated folk can call their own, it is only fitting that the first transgender TV host should be Tamil. Most Indian transgender people can speak Tamil, by the way.

Now lets not jump the gun by saying this is the beginning of better understanding and treatment of the third gender. The show is set to air in December, and I expect the usual protests from the so called moral guardians of the society. But if Pakistan can be proud of a transgender TV personality, why not us?

The Statesman, Calcutta, India

April 24, 2006

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=6&id=141972&usrsess=1

Tista’s struggle

by Rupam Jain

Thirty-year-old Tista Das will vote for the first time on 27 April (third phase of Assembly election) from Ward No. 8, booth 47. A resident of Mahajati Nagar, Agarpara, Tista is a little old to be a first-time voter. This is her story.

In Calcutta University one day, Sushanto Das asked a guard there where the toilet was. He was shown the “ladies” toilet. Some understood, others didn’t. “His parents were hostile, he had to be shifted from one place to another for shelter,” says Shantiranjan Basu, a retired advocate cast out by his son for helping people like Sushanto. Thirty-year-old Sushanto Das is now Tista Das.

“Though I had a very masculine name, I always felt trapped in a man’s body. I felt incomplete and wanted to align my body with my psyche.”

Tista is the first and only transsexual in the city to have a voters’ ID card. She underwent a sex-change operation on 9 May, 2004 coinciding with her birthday. “I insisted that I be operated on this day. I wanted a rebirth and this was it,” she says.

There are, however, others like her — Manabi and Sohini Bagchi, but they do not have either have voters’ ID cards or ration cards.

Nandini of Southern Avenue (who committed suicide more than a decade ago) was the first to undergo a sex change in Kolkata, followed by Manabi, Tista and Sohini, but Tista stands out.

Her struggle began when she voiced her opinion that she wanted to be a woman because she felt like a woman. “My family was against me, they did not support my decision but I chose to fight because I understand that everybody is a victim of society. I was young and the trauma began affecting my studies. I changed colleges and finally completed my graduation through correspondence from Bethune College.” Tista is now a complete woman and a look at her will confirm this fact. “My fight was fought alone, but I must say that my friends have always supported me,” she says. “First I got my ration card and then started running around to get a voters’ ID card and finally I got it on 15 July 2005.”

Though she has a voters’ ID card now, her certificates still bear the name Sushanto. “A case against the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is still going on with regard to my change of name on my birth certificate, and I will hopefully also get my college certificates bearing the name Tista.” She has also applied for a passport.

Dr Shila Rohatgi, who operated on Tista, said: “She is a fighter and so she is the only one to have a voters’ ID. She alone could do this.” Presently working as a project co-ordinator for Transgenders Voices Inc, an American organisation, Tista balances her work and passion ~ cinema, and like any other celebrity she had been approached by the Left Front to campaign for elections in Durgapur, but she refused. “I have nothing to do with politics. I will vote simply to prove that I have voted as a woman and I am a woman.”

The Telegraph, Calcutta, India

November 13, 2004

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041113/asp/calcutta/story_3980183.asp

Gender truths & candid call

A STAFF REPORTER

Tista at the Rajabazar Science College seminar. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya “When she first came to me for counselling, she was at a loss. And look at her now…” exclaimed psychologist Suparna Das. She was talking of Tista, a transexual woman, who, held over 50 academics spellbound for over three hours with her lecture on Gender Identity Disorder (GID) recently. The lecture, organised by Eastern Zonal Psychological Association at Rajabazar College, was the first-of-its-kind in Calcutta and Tista, 29, was in her element talking about her disorder — the historical and social background and conditions along with her own dilemmas during her conversion from Sushanto to Tista. “Though we do not get many patients like Tista who want to change their sex, the very few that we come across, tend to be of immense intensity,” explains Suvra Chunder, secretary, Eastern Zonal Psychological Association. “A workshop like this one will be of immense help to sensitise society about people with GID. These patients’ trauma of dealing with their own sexuality, coupled with their families’ attitudes, can lead to severe mental problems and in many cases, suicide.” Though a study in Sweden mentions that only one out of 30,000 men and one out of 100,000 women are afflicted with Tista’s disorder, psychologists believe that there are many more who do not turn up at a doctor’s clinic. (see below*) After the lecture, Mallika Banerjee, reader in the psychology department, Calcutta University, said: “A huge number of such patients are suppressed because of the alarmingly low level of consciousness and awareness at all levels of society. The pressure of having to fight society at every step, along with their own discomfiture of being fit into bodies they wish to change, can be highly traumatic for youngsters.” Suparna Das added: “Sometimes, people with GID can’t deal with the harassment and stop thinking about a change. But only because they can’t fight anymore.” Tista and her lecture, therefore, was exemplary for more reasons than one. “Speaking forth on an issue as sensitive as this requires a lot of determination. She can garner more support for people like her, than psychologists ever can do,” said Suvra Chunder. Students, practising psychologists, teachers and counsellors all were unanimous in their appreciation of the lecture, which could have gone on for longer, judging by the enthusiasm and inquisitiveness of the audience. As for Tista, this is just another chapter of change. “After all the harassment I have been through, this is like a dream come true. I am looking forward to creating a forum to provide help to people like myself.” Now on a high, having procured a “legitimate ration card and voter’s ID card after hours of standing in queues and making government officials see reason”, Tista is busy with shoot schedules for a telefilm, in which she works with actors Parambrata and Manoj Mitra among others.

Rose wants to know Hello folks This is Rose, Yours Rose. I encourage you to provide me your feedback and suggestions on this forum. 1) Please feel free to suggest topics of social concern to come in the upcoming episodes of Ippadikku Rose. Also, suggest people who are best and will be open to discuss on TV those issues you suggest. 2) The first show was a silent starter. Do not be disappointed, the upcoming episodes are much more appealing. 3) I encourage you to voice your support and suggestions for improvement of my show. Thanks Yours Rose

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Ipadikku Rose, the first talk-show in South Indian television, hosted by a transgender 'Rose' airs Thursdays at 10 pm on Vijay TV.

Rose, a transgender with a Master's degree from United States hosts the much-awaited talk-show Ipadikku Rose. The show is sure to sensitize people to topics that are considered taboo in society.

'Ipadikku Rose' is an interactive programme inviting participants to talk about the social issues that affects our society. The show is one of its kind in the talk show genre that will stir emotions, awaken conscience and set the audience thinking. While dealing with human emotions, Rose brings to light the problems faced by people who come from different strata of society. She deals with issues which have not been discussed in a public forum ever before. Some of the topics that would be debated are 'Domestic violence in foreign countries', 'Sexual harassment in colleges', 'The life of models', 'The rise in number of divorces among celebrities' etc., as people affected open their hearts out to Rose. A Panel of experts would be present on the sets to throw more light on the topics discussed.

Rose would don the role of a moderator and is sure to strike an emotional chord with the audience. The show is an attempt to bring forth people who are sidelined by the society and who do not get an opportunity to voice their grievances.