TN’s oldest transperson awaits life story on silver screen so ‘public knows plight of third gender’

Sundhara Amma, the oldest transgender woman in Tamil Nadu, is eagerly awaiting the documentary detailing her life that is expected to release soon. Her only request to the filmmakers is, “Make sure I look good in the photo. My teeth are all missing, don’t let them see that.” Born in Madhuranthagam, she moved to Mumbai when she was around 15, but she’s not sure. “I’m old. I forget things. I never got an education, so I don’t know how old I was. My parents died when I was little, and my relatives took care of me. But I always knew I was a woman. They chased me out of my house because of it,” she says. Life in her hometown became difficult and she moved to Chennai when she was 10 and later to Mumbai. 

“Bombay in the 70s was similar to Chennai at the time,” she adds. But as the years progressed, Sundhara Amma found it difficult to take care of herself and returned to the city when her many daughters stepped up to take care of her. “They sent me money when I couldn’t fend for myself. There was Kumari, Noori, Saritha, Channama, Radha, and so many more. This one,” she says, bringing out a sepia framed picture of a woman in her early thirties, “is Manjula. She passed away. I miss her so much.” Within the transgender community, the concept of a “mother” who cares for the younger ingenue is a life-long and binding relationship. 

This relationship is akin to a biological relationship, and serves as the foundation of a family to carry forward the community. Due to her age, Sundhara Amma has many daughters all across the nation, and she says she can’t keep track any more. In the sunset years of her life, Sundhara Amma hopes that her life story on silver screen would help the public reflect on the plight of the third gender even now