It was more than just song and dance at the second edition of Bihar's transgender cultural festival
Shiv Chandra Ram, Minister of Art, Culture, and Youth Affairs, inaugurated Kinnar Mahotsava, Bihar's transgender cultural festival, at Patna's Ravindra Bhavan on Friday. Now in its second year, the festival has the backing of the Bihar government.
The festival was initially proposed by an NGO, Dostana Safar, which, in collaboration with the Bihar government, works for the betterment of the transgender community. According to The Times of India, talking about the discrimination transgenders face, activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi said,
"It's a shame that even 70 years after independence, a certain section of human beings in India continue to be looked down upon and have to fight for their basic human rights."
Apart from the cultural aspect, the festival highlighted the importance of transgenders' basic needs being fulfilled and the significance of education and employment in their lives.
The festival also saw the release of the CD of a documentary based on the struggles of a transgender student called Veera.
Laxmi also informed the audience about a soon-to-be-released book titled Kinner Mahapurana, which intends to break society's myths about transgenders. Kajal, an audience member, told Patna Beats,
“I wanted to visualise this event to know these people in my way, not the way I have heard since childhood. It’s really surprising that we have such epic talents here, but we diminish them. I wish Bihar brings more such plans for upgrading the transgender lifestyle.”
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