Narthaki Nataraj, a renowned dancer from Tamil Nadu has become the first person from the transgender community to be honoured with one of the top civilian awards in India. She is the first transgender conferred with prestigious Padma Shri award.

“I was born with silver-spoon and joined family of 10 children. I would like to thank Government of India for this prestigious award. The award has not been given to me for my transgender identity but for my merit as a Bharatnatyam artist. All the negativity have transformed into a great victory,” Narthaki said. Video: ANI