They ‘trans’cend gender barriers to master Silambam

Coimbatore: Twenty city-based trans women who are learning Silambam, an ancient martial art of Tamil Nadu, aspire to excel in the discipline and earn medals one day.
Twenty-four-year-old Anushiya, a taxi driver by profession, said she and her friends got in touch with several NGOs to learn the martial art form. “They help us with jobs and education, but have not given importance to sports so far. We tried to contact some Silambam masters on our own, but they avoided us,” she told TOI.
Mangaiyanavan Foundation, a group of seven physical education teachers who joined hands to introduce sports to transgender people across the state, reached out to Anushiya through newsreader Padmini. “We met the NGO people in January. Though we wanted to learn Kabaddi and Silambam, they suggested we learn throwball first,” said Anushiya. “It felt great, because it boosted our alertness, fitness and general energy level.”
Managing trustee of the foundation, 30-year-old Jamuna Rajavellappan, said they did a lot of research on transgender people before registering their foundation in January. “We understood the way they talked, their aspirations, behaviour, triggers and lifestyle. After they mastered throwball, we were confident enough to introduce them to Silambam and fortunately found master Prabhu to train them,” she said.
Thirty-five-year-old Jamila, who works as a master in a cloud kitchen, said there are now 20 Silambam students including herself. “Most of them are youngsters. We find Silambam, which we have been learning with sticks, fascinating. It has made us more fit, flexible and we feel healthier and a lot more confident.”
The foundation aims to introduce different types of sports to transgender people in the state.