‘They were all baddies’: Photographs of India’s joyous trans magnificence pageant

Over the final two years, the photographer Jitendra Jerry joined 1000’s of others within the village of Koovagam in Tamil Nadu, southern India, to have fun the annual Koovagam Festival. Taking place throughout 18 days beneath the sweltering April solar, the pageant commemorates the parable of Aravan. Appearing within the Mahabharata, an historic Hindu epic, the story recounts how Aravan agrees to sacrifice himself to the goddess Kali, asking solely to be married first. But when no bride comes ahead, the Hindu god Krishna assumes the feminine type of Mohini to fulfil his closing want after which mourn him as a widow the next morning. Each 12 months, trans girls collect on the Koothandavar Temple of their most interesting silks to embody this cycle of devotion and loss, marrying Aravan one night time earlier than ritually mourning him the subsequent, maybe discovering within the fable a mirrored image of their very own gender fluidity and religion. 

This recreation is, nevertheless, not why Jerry is drawn to the pageant, neither is it the central focus of their new photograph e book, God Is Trans, printed by Deep State Press. Despite the e book’s title, which pays homage to the religious lineage of trans folks in India, the photographer consciously skims over the pageant’s spiritual and political points. Instead, Jerry is far more within the inside lives of the trans and non-binary folks attending Koovagam and the way this interiority is expressed via their type. “When I travelled to the festival two years ago, I saw a lot of trans girls dressing up in really cool, unique outfits. Some girls were inspired by Tamil film heroines or goddesses, but everyone had their own personal style. They were all baddies,” Jerry tells Dazed. “Other photographers have explored the religious significance of the festival, but I wanted to document joy and those moments of self-expression.”

Shot solely on movie, Jerry’s pictures are attentive to the trivia of how folks adorn themselves: there are pictures of attendees embellished in gold jewelry, pairing conventional saris with Louis Vuitton purses or with jasmine braided into their hair. The ritual of preparing collectively can be documented within the e book, showing in one in all its first pictures: a full-bleed picture of a bunch of trans girls lounging collectively on the grass whereas one lady holds up a mirror and thoroughly fills in her eyebrows. Dressing to impress is, in spite of everything, ingrained into the pageant, which, alongside performing rituals of matrimony and mourning, consists of the titular Miss Koovagam magnificence pageant. “For a trans girl who is still transitioning or has just transitioned, participating in the pageant is a real moment of joy and acceptance,” they clarify. 

This concentrate on self-fashioning underscores a lot of their follow, together with an ongoing mission titled Who Am I?!, by which the photographer creates portraits of younger queer folks dwelling in city India. “In my opinion, a lot of Western photographers who come to India and document queerness here are searching for difference. They like finding people who are more androgynous in their presentation or are fascinated by a certain kind of ugliness,” explains Jerry. This side of gender expression is necessary, they are saying, however looking out it out and photographing it to the exclusion of another dangers flattening how a worldwide viewers understands queerness in India. “I hang out with these communities and am part of these spaces, so I feel the need to showcase how beautiful and multi-faceted these women are.”

Speaking to Jerry, it turns into clear that they too grew to become immersed within the celebrations at Koovagam. They share anecdotes of dancing into the night time with the women and accumulating their cellphone numbers and Instagram handles to share pictures later. This camaraderie is current within the pictures, the place everyone seems to be dancing and laughing freely regardless of the presence of a digital camera. “Trans girls love to have fun. They love to dance. They love to get drunk, be themselves and to be seen,” Jerry shared. “Even on the last day of the festival when they are in mourning, wearing white saris and crying to mark the death of their imaginary husband, they find it all so funny. They love this performance, and it’s not always sentimental for them. I wanted to make sure that playfulness was highlighted in my photographs.”

God Is Trans by Jitendra Jerry is printed by Hamza Ashraf and Deep State Press and is out there here. The launch is accompanied by an exhibition on the Leeds-based gallery and bookshop, Village, till the thirtieth of August.