Songs of the Caravan

July 12^th, 2012 will always remain a red lettered day for Amitava (to be referred as Amita in the rest of the essay) Sarkar. For it marked the culmination of a journey, and also the beginning of a new one.  Somebody at the studio, on hearing her rendition of Rabindranath Tagore’s Ekla Chalo Re, wondered whether Tagore exponent Suchitra Mitra had sung the song. Amita had trained under her Suchitradi for 7 long years, had even passed a diploma with first class. Music, for Amita, now 40, is not just art. It is her source of sustenance – right from the tender age of nine when she started taking music lessons, from the time she was made to feel “abnormal” because she could not fit into the gender binary, right through the days when her friends jeered at her because she wore her mother’s clothes, did not enjoy outdoor sports but loved playing with dolls. Back then, in the 80s, there was no support group to orient her to trans-identities. It was music which was her only solace. Today, Amita along with eight other transwomen and hijras from across India are ready with a music album titled ‘Songs of the Caravan’, a first of its kind in India.

We go back to last year when Anubhav Gupta, director of Jeevan Trust contacted Amita with this idea of putting together an album. They had met while both were working on HIV awareness. Amita is associated with SAATHI (Solidarity and Action Against the HIV Infection in India), an NGO based out of Kolkata. This was Jeevan Trust’s first engagement with the LGBT community. Earlier they had worked on a project on albinism. Anubhav says, “We have seen how transgenders are portrayed in films. We have seen them visit our homes during festivities. The idea occurred to me on one such visit. I wanted to find dedicated artists from within the community and establish them as mainstream singers. I wanted to dispel myths around their lifestyles. And as the singers came on board, I was surprised that out of 9 of them, 6 were trained and some even wrote their own songs.”

Amita emphatically asserts, “We are reclaiming music through this album. You see hijras sing and dance for a living. But here we are celebrating ourselves, we are celebrating music as an art form. But will the general public believe that we can be well educated, working professionals and even trained music practioners like them?” The road to self discovery is emotionally fraught and often solitary. Amita laments that most transgenders do not get any familial or societal support. If a gay man doesn’t disclose his orientation, he will not face discrimination on a regular basis but an effeminate man or a transwoman will, because of the way they dress, talk or walk. There are many who are driven out of their homes, some are deprived of hereditary property rights, many forced out of schools. In such dire circumstances, livelihood becomes the most important concern. So many transpeople join the hijra community for a living, some get into sex work. Some beg at traffic signals. Even if they are musically inclined or are great dancers or stylists, there is no support system to nurture their talent. Government hospitals do not recognize the medical needs of transpeople. If a transwoman wants to go for sex reassignment surgery (SRS), her only recourse is private help which is prohibitively expensive. So, many are forced to go for castration which comes for ten to twelve thousand rupees, bypassing the long counseling cycles, hormonal replacement therapy and voice training. Even in Tamil Nadu, where such operations are free, these processes are ignored and it is only the surgery that is free. In such a scenario, here’s a music album by people from this very community… people who can be inspirations for so many in the community.

However, it would be grossly limiting to slot the album just as an advocacy exercise. Just look at the bouquet of songs on offer. From Tagore to blues and jazz , Laxmistuti in Kannada to Rajasthani and Marathi folk, original compositions in English and Gujarati to soft romantic numbers… an album which is  not just a microcosm of the diverse cultures of India but also a composite listening experience. And a caravan indeed… a passage from one history, one story, one life to the next.

The production of the album itself is a great story of symphony. To cut down on travel costs and also clash of schedules, Anubhav asked all the singers to record their songs in their respective cities and then send them to him. So while Amita was recording Ekla Cholo Re in a studio in Chandannagore, West Bengal, Kalki Subramanium, transgender activist, actor and founder of Sahodari Foundation was recording her self composed English song about moving on from an unhappy relationship in Chennai. While Kanta Leisangthem, with 2 diplomas in Hindustani classical music was recording her love song in Imphal, Rani was recording her ‘Yashoda Maiya’ in Delhi. But the studio rent and productions costs were still too steep and the whole funding of 4700 Euros received from the Amsterdam based PlanetRomeo Foundation was used up. And this put the album launch and promotion to a halt last November even though the album was ready. PlanetRomeo refused to chip in with more money on the same project as they fund many projects for the LGBT community. Anubhav laments that though there are many corporates which fund projects for the promotion of the rights of sexual minorities across the world, they stick to “safe” options like the girl child and environment when they come to India. Amita points out that even within projects for the sexual minorities; the balance is tilted towards initiatives on sexual health like HIV and AIDS awareness, for example. The ‘big’ donors like The Department For International Development (DFID), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the European Union (EU) fund only big NGOs with branches all over, on large scale projects. So where could a little music album, without any tangible or immediate goals, fit in? When the LGBT community is still mostly recognized through pathologisation by highlighting the health hazards they are susceptible to, where is the scope to address their social and emotional needs?

After failing to secure funds, Anubhav put up a post on the crowd funding website, Wishberry, this August. However, a sum of only Rs. 26000 could be raised and after stipulated deductions, he received Rs. 20000 only. Anubhav reiterates that the album deserves a grand launch and is therefore going to apply for a personal loan. Amita laments, “If such an initiative were to be launched in the West, we would not have to struggle for funding. Look at Sweden. They have recognized LGBT rights so long back and here the Delhi High Court ruling came only in 2009. There they have SIDA to promote our rights. And here we are struggling for a few thousand rupees. I was suggesting Anubhav that UNDP organizes community programmes. We could request them for a slot to launch our album in Delhi. All the singers can bear their travel costs while some NGOs can be requested to put us up for a day or two. Online release is our last option.” The caravan has come a long way and its dwellers are in no way going to give up!

In this age of social networking where governments are toppled, revolutions started, people killed with Facebook posts and uploads on Youtube, where films worth crores are funded through posts put up by filmmakers on Twitter and Facebook, here are a group of artistes who are still waiting for their moment under the limelight. They have fought a long battle with their selves and with society. They are here not just for who they are but also on the strength of their capabilities, their tenacity and their talent. November 20^th is the Transgender Day of Remembrance to memorialize those who were killed as a result of transphobia. Amita hopes that ‘Songs of the Caravan’ can be launched around that day. Can we afford to fail her and the other singers on the album?