India’s transgender community finds brief sanctuary at sacred Aravan festival: Video
For a few fleeting days each year, India's often-shunned transgender community is welcomed and revered at a festival that is at once sacred ritual, celebration, and a refuge.
At the heart of it is the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.
Held in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the festival centres on devotion to Aravan, a figure from Hindu mythology associated with sacrifice and transformation. For many attendees, often from the marginalised hijra community, the event represents both a sacred pilgrimage and a rare space of belonging.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
