Malayali couple changes sex, to marry

Kochi: Kerala is set to witness a rare marriage next month as a couple who were born as different genders and underwent a sex change have decided to tie the knot.   Aarav Appukuttan, 46, who was born Bindu, will marry his sweetheart Sukanyeah Krishnan, 22, (born Chandu).   “We are India's first complete transgender couple and we are happy,” Sukanyeah said. They  fell in love at a hospital while they were undergoing gender reassignment. An elated Sukanyeah,  who hails from Thrippunithura,  said, "I am so excited to announce that our friends and family are finally behind us." 

She and Aarav are looking forward to forming an organisation with their friends to help people undergo sex change surgeries and  provide them with a better life. They also plan to counsel the parents of transgenders. “Aarav was a boy hidden in a girl's body while I was a girl in a boy's body,” she said.  Sukanyeah, working as a freelancer in the IT field,  and Aarav,  a tour manager in West Asia,  fell in love three years ago and they had kept it a secret.  The couple underwent treatment at different hospitals,  including one in Mumbai. Now they are planning to settle in Kottayam, Aarav's native place. “We plan to construct a house and adopt a child,” she said.