Cross-dressing in Indian culture has a long history since ancient times. While some are connected to various art forms and rituals, some are deeply intertwined with superstition and circumstantial needs which subsequently gave birth to some tantalising stories. A thread 1/17
Take for instance the story of an orthodox Brahmin family from rural Maharashtra where a tragedy-struck couple gave birth to their fourth son and fifth child after all the earlier sons had died in their infancy. 2/17
Upon consulting a local priest, they were told that the fact that all their previous sons had died while the only daughter survived, was a clear indication that their male child bore a curse. The only way to appease fate was to raise their child as a girl. 3/17
In an unforeseen war against destiny, the frantic, grief-stricken couple had their boyโs nose pierced and made him wear a nose-ring to conceal his gender identity. Despite being named Ramchandra, he was called Nathuram (Ram with a nose-ring). 4/17
As far as fate goes, Nathuram did live to win the war against destiny and became the infamous assassin Nathuram Godse. However, not all circumstantial needs turn out to be an infamous history such as this. 5/17
Consider the story of Rajamani who was born into one of the wealthiest families in Rangoon (present day Myanmar) in the early 20th century. Her family was a dedicated supporter and financial contributor to the Indian nationalist movement. 6/17
During 1937, Gandhi paid a visit to her family mansion where he gazed upon a young Rajamani โ busy polishing her shooting skills with a rifle. 7/17
Despite Gandhiโs best effort to convince her with his ideology, the 10-year-old girl seemed already convinced that the only way to resist the Britishers was to shoot them down. 8/17
During World War II, Subhash Chandra Bose visited Rangoon to collect funds and find volunteers for the Indian National Army (INA). Bose urged everyone to take up arms and unite against the British. 9/17
Deeply inspired by Bose, Rajamani donated all her valuable belongings for the noble cause. This benevolence attracted Bose's attention. The very next day Bose arrived at her residence to return all her jewellery. 10/17
The teenager refused to take back her jewellery and thus impressed by her determination and wisdom, Bose named her Saraswati. 11/17
In 1943 Netaji Subhash Bose started the Rani Lakshmibai regiment of the INA where at the tender age of 16, Saraswati Rajamani became the youngest spy of the Indian freedom struggle. 12/17
Her first assignment was to cross-dress as a delivery boy, and enter the British camp, only to be a spy named Mani. During World War II, she sent classified information from the British camp to Bose who in turn gave the information to the Japanese army. 13/17
During a fateful chain of events, Rajamaniโs fellow comrade Durga was caught and imprisoned by the Britishers. Despite having a chance to run for her life, she disguised herself as a local sweeper girl, broke open the lock and helped Durga escape. 14/17
While running away, a British officer shot Rajamani in her leg but could not prevent her escape. Both the girls hid on the top of a huge tree for three days without food and water. 15/17
Later, they escaped by a bus and reached Rangoon after travelling 700 kilometres. Despite her valour at such a young age, her story remains largely untold. 16/17
An attire often brings out the gender or religious identity of a person. Sadly enough, even after years of evolution went into the making of a modern society, we often forget that beneath the attire lies a human, capable of unimaginable things. 17/17
Sources: Joyce Chapman Lebra. Women Against the Raj- The Rani of Jhansi Regiment
(ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute); Vera Hildebrand. Women at War - Subhas Chandra Bose and the Rani of Jhansi Regiment (HarperCollins Publishers India)
(ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute); Vera Hildebrand. Women at War - Subhas Chandra Bose and the Rani of Jhansi Regiment (HarperCollins Publishers India)
Yogendra Yadav, Godse raised as a girl, Print, theprint.in; Manohar Malgonkar. The Men Who Killed Gandhi (Roli Books)
Image attributes: Vinayak Rao Godse and his wife (Nathuram Godse's parents), Trivia Serendip, trivia.serendip.in; A 90 year old Saraswati Rajamani, Indiatimes; The Hijras of Ancient to Modern India, brewminate.com
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