I sat down with a transgender mother. This is her story.
Gayatri’s mother was a sex worker who unfortunately succumbed to the deadly HIV.
Gayatriwas only four years old.
Shree Gauri Sawant who travels through the lanes of brothels helping sex workers and transgenders live a healthy life, heard about Gayatri and immediately decided on adopting the infant. Their relationship was the subject of an ad that Vicks Vaporub directed.
It brought forward a unique theme: transgenders and their adoption rights.
"Motherhood is a behaviour and it has nothing to do with the gender of a person," says Shree Gauri Sawant.
She continues to delve in to the dichotomy of her statement by mentioning that to care and to love someone means bathing in the pristine love of a mother. She had always dreamed of being a mother from a very young age and Gayatri has helped her feel complete.
When asked about what kind of a relationship she shares with Gayatri, a giggle escapes her.
"Gayatri is more of a mother to me than I am to her! She often tells me what kind of a sari looks good on me or if she likes my newly styled hair or not!"
They fuss over each other and these shared moments are much treasured by the mother-daughter duo. Unfortunately Shree Gauri Sawant lost her own mother at a very young age too, and has found herself giving the same love and attention to Gayatri that she had craved as a child.
The universe has often been caught playing with its beautifully curated puppets in the strangest of manners. This time, it brought two people from different walks of life together. However, a deeper understanding over a shared loss seems to have played an important role in their bonding.
While Gauri remains every bit Gayatri's mother, she continues to also be a friend and an ally to others around her.
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