Koovagam- A visit to the festival of transgenders

Taking you back all the way to the Mahabharata is the Koovagam Festival celebrated in the Koovagam village in Villupuram district’s Ulundurpettai taluk. This is the celebration of the identity of the transgenders in our country. This 18- day long festival is very well known, not just within the transgender community but among cultural enthusiasts in the country too. Normally celebrated in the Tamil month of Chitirai which is around April or May, thousands of transgenders travel to this town to visit the Koothandavar temple dedicated to Lord Aravan who is also known as Koothandavar.

Lord Aravan is said to be a son of Arjuna born out of wedlock. According to the Mahabharata, he agrees to be sacrificed to Goddess Kali to end the war between Pandavas and Kauravas under the condition of getting married before his sacrifice. As no one agrees to marry a man about to be killed, Lord Krishna takes the form of a woman called Mohini and marries him. After the ceremony, he willingly offers himself to the goddess, who then devours him.

Also referred to as Aravinis, transgenders are said to be from the lineage of Lord Aravan. Hence to honour him and his sacrifice, each year they reenact the entire sequence of this event. In the first 16 days, there is a lot of dance and celebration with events such as beauty contests and awareness campaigns been done by local NGOs.