Kolkata: A transgender couple from Kolkata, Tista Das and Dipan Chakraborty, tied the knot at a traditional Bengali ceremony setting a new precedent for the LGBT community in what is believed to be the state's first "rainbow wedding". The couple pledged their love for each other in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.
Thirty-eight-year-old Tista has been a popular face of the transgender community in Kolkata having worked as an actor in films and TV. She met Dipan, 40, from Assam's Lumding a few years back and the two struck a chord instantly. The duo announced their decision to tie the knot in April on the occasion of National Transgender Day of Visibility.
"We are all ecstatic, not just me but each and everyone who has supported us. It has indeed been a tough ride, facing stiff social stigma. Therefore, this day has special significance in all our lives. And what adds to it is the fact that we could chose our life partner," said Das, Bengal's first transsexual woman with a voter ID card. "We are out of the gender box and we love to be an exception and we think this is a strong bond between us," Tista Das said.
While Dipan's family stayed away from the social event, Tista's mother has been steadfast in her support. Born as Sushanto Das, a man from a Kolkata suburb, Tista gave herself a new identity as a transwoman 15 years ago. She underwent a sex reassignment surgery (SRS) in 2004 after being diagnosed with gender dysphoria in her childhood. Since then, Tista has been a vocal champion of the transsexual rights making numerous public appearances challenging gender stereotypes and prejudices.
Das said she battled for a long time to "achieve her identity as a woman, as a human being", adding: "I was not even considered as a human being in this brutal society." A transgender friend of the couple, Anurag Maitrayee, said the ceremony was a "beautiful, emotional union of two hearts and two souls".
Official estimates for India's transgender population are not known but they are thought to number several million. Transgenders often live on the extreme fringes of Indian society, with many forced into prostitution, begging or menial jobs. Over the centuries transgenders have assumed different roles in society, from royal courtesans to participants in birth ceremonies and other auspicious occasions. They have waged a lengthy battle to protect their rights and end discrimination.
India passed a landmark transgender bill on 15 April 2014 to enshrine the rights of transgender people in law. The SC directed the Centre and States to take steps to treat them as socially and educationally backward classes and extend reservation for admission in educational institutions and for public appointments.
West Bengal witnesses first 'rainbow wedding'
Kolkata: An Indian transgender couple who both underwent sex re-assignment have tied the knot in a traditional Bengali ceremony, in what is believed to be the state's first "rainbow wedding".
Surrounded by family and friends, bride Tista Das, 38, and groom Dipan Chakravarthy, 40, took part in rituals and pledged their love for each other in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.
z"We are feeling awesome actually. We are out of the gender box and we love to be an exception and we think this is a strong bond between us," Tista Das told AFP on Monday.
"It's a bond of love. It's a bond of liberty also," she said. "And this is the solidarity of our souls."
Das said she battled for a long time to "achieve her identity as a woman, as a human being", adding: "I was not even considered as a human being in this brutal society."
A transgender friend of the couple, Anurag Maitrayee, said the ceremony was a "beautiful, emotional union of two hearts and two souls".
"Despite all the oddities and all the atrocities, I have seen how Tista and her journey from a man into a woman and her relation, emotion, love with a person with a soul whose journey is from a woman to a man," Maitrayee said.
Official estimates for India's transgender population are not known but they are thought to number several million.
Transgenders often live on the extreme fringes of Indian society, with many forced into prostitution, begging or menial jobs.
Over the centuries transgenders have assumed different roles in society, from royal courtesans to participants in birth ceremonies and other auspicious occasions.
They have waged a lengthy battle to protect their rights and end discrimination.
India's Supreme Court recognised them as a third gender in a historic 2014 ruling.
On Tuesday, India's lower house passed a transgender bill to enshrine the rights of transgender people in law. The bill is currently being discussed in the upper house.
But the community as well as human rights activists have raised concerns that the bill's language is unclear over whether it allows transgender people to self-identify.
"The Transgender Persons Bill should be a remarkable achievement for a long-persecuted community, but the current draft fails on the fundamental right to self-identify," Human Rights Watch South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said last month.
"It's crucial that the law be in line with the Supreme Court's historic ruling on transgender rights."
