Turning her life around

It takes one a few moments to follow Thripti Shetty as she shares her story, not just because she speaks fast, but because it’s a flow of blunt truths. In a painfully honest conversation, she speaks of her journey, from the Kasaragod native Kiran, who was puzzled about his identity, to Thripti, the first transgender entrepreneur in Kerala.

“All my life, my dream was to live as a woman,” she says, sitting at her stall of handicraft products and handmade jewellery at the Christmas Mela at Marine Drive, Kochi. To realise the dream, Thripti, then Kiran, left her hometown Manjeshwar in 2004 to earn money, trusting a man who promised her a job in Bengaluru, where she worked unpaid for six months. She left the place and after earning her ticket fare from menial jobs, returned to her hometown. Experiences had left her shattered, but the desire to get out of a man’s body stayed strong.

She says, “I worked with a catering firm in Mumbai and later, in Kozhikode. In 2006, I went to Chennai and embraced the hijra culture. My aim was to undergo sex reassignment surgery and make money. I had only two choices — sex trade and begging.” Thripti chose the latter.

In 2012, she underwent sex change at a dingy Chennai hospital on a table with no anesthesia, operation theatre or proper facilities. Right after the surgery, she was sent home. On the 40th day, she was ceremoniously initiated to womanhood through jalsa, the ritual of new birth. On the 42nd day, the wound got infected and she was catheterised. “I went for begging, carrying the catheter. It was painful but I had no qualms. It was all for a life I wished for,” she reasons.

It was when she came to Kochi two years ago that her life changed forever. “One day, for no reason, I was attacked by two men who came in an auto. Dr. Annie of Ernakulam General Hospital, who treated me, was the one who introduced me to jewellery making and helped me lead a decent life,” she says.

A fortnight into learning the new art, Thripti held her first exhibition. Then on, there have been a couple of exhibitions. “The responses have been great. I make jewellery using stones, silk thread jimikkis and décor using discarded bottles. There are jute products and paintings as well,” she adds.

The year has been awesome for Thripti, getting modelling assignments, becoming one among the 15 finalists of a beauty pageant, being part of the movie Kallanmarude Rajavu and participating in the art festival Samanwaya. “I got a job in Kochi Metro, but since my heart lies in business, I chose to go with entrepreneurship. I became the first transgender to register under the Handicrafts Development Corporation of the Kerala government. I have also applied for the Mudra loan. The next step is to own a shop, if possible, with the support of the Tourism Department,” she reveals.  

Thripti has been to several places in the country but would like to call Kochi home. She says, “I want to settle down here and prove to the world that a transgender can live in pride, holding my head high.”