Coimbatore :

Ostracized by her family at the age of 14 for being a transgender, Rathi Punithavathiyar has come a long way since then. She recently launched her book and became the first transgender author from the city.

The book, written in Tamil, was launched in the city at the cultural fest organized by the members of Coimbatore district transgender welfare association.

“When I turned 14, I realized the changes in my body and I yearned to become a lady. But my family members did not understand me and I had leave home,” said Rathi. With no one to support her at that young age, she faced several hardships.

“I was not aware of many things as my parents had taken really good care of me. I was forced to do things that I was uncomfortable with including begging,” she said.

But influenced by the several achievers in her community, including Padmini who became the first transgender news reader, Kalki, an author and several becoming doctors, she decided to do what she liked the most – write.

Though she studied only till Class 10, she said she was confident that she would author a book. “Finding a publisher was the most difficult task,” said Rathi.

After several months of hardship, she finally got the book published. It would be available for public from January. “This book is the first part and I am working on the second part as well which would be published by March. Telling the stories of transgenders gives me extreme happiness. I hope that one day the society would treat us equally,” she said.

The event saw was also a platform for many transgenders from the city to showcase their talent. Many performed dances, took part in the fashion show and recited poetry.

“This event was mainly held to launch our website that will cater to various needs of the trangenders. Also, to help people understand our community,” said Sangeetha, state president of the transgender welfare association.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Komal Gautham, TNN / November 18th, 2015