Saga of a Kinnar guru

Anuradha Dutt

Sakhibai Gaushala

Aphone call from Kosi Kalan in the evening of July 7 broke the news of Sakhibai's death. "Mataji maari gai!" cried Rajesh, her nephew.
This was not unexpected as the kinnar guru who ran three gaushalas in Kosi, renowned for the Kokilavan Dham that houses a widely revered 5,000-year-old Lord Shani shrine, had been anticipating her own killing over the five years that I knew her. It was a death foretold by her but still shocking that she was gunned down, and that too in broad daylight. In Surir police thana files, blame for the murder was fixed on a rival eunuch group, headed by Rani kinnar, who is currently lodged in jail along with three others for their involvement in the crime.
The apparent trigger for the deadly assault was a dispute between the two groups over their work territories, with Rani kinnar reportedly demanding that Sakhibai's toli forgo a part of its operating area in her owntoli's favour. When Sakhibai refused to comply, Rani lured her to Surir village on some pretext, and then one person shot the former dead. The slain guru's kin suspect a contract killing.
Thus ended abruptly the 70-yearold kinnar guru's saga. Memories of her loving care of kine and other voiceless creatures, spiritual resoluteness and uncanny prescience cast light on a unique individual who managed to transcend the quirks of destiny to leave a deep impress upon the sands of time. Born as a hermaphrodite into a well-off Yadav family in Mainpuri, she was taken away when she was seven years old by Shantibai, a Muslim kinnar guru, and brought to Kosi where she was to spend her life. In addition to engaging in traditional badhai work such as

Operating from some roughly constructed rooms, meant for her group members, employees and assistants, just off the Delhi- Mathura highway, the organisation mobilised resources to tend kine, a few buffaloes, cats, dogs and exotic birds. Local people dropped by to socialise and to buy milk as that was a major source of income, but occasionally to pressurise Sakhibai to part with her considerable assets.

Sakhibai caresses her cows dancing at weddings and blessing couples and new born babies and being generously rewarded, Mataji or Mummyji, as she was known locally, set up the Animal Welfare Society.
Operating from some roughly constructed rooms, meant for her group members, employees and assistants, just off the Delhi-Mathura highway, the organisation mobilised resources to tend kine, a few buffaloes, cats, dogs and exotic birds. Local people dropped by to socialise and to buy milk as that was a major source of income, but occasionally to pressurise Sakhibai to part with her considerable assets. The cattle grazing land that Shantibai had left to sustain the gaushalas fuelled the greed of the land mafia, active in the region. Skirmishes that turned violent erupted occasionally as the kinnars fended off covetous assailants.
Filing of complaints and FIRs at the local police station, and visits to the Agra court for hearings was a routine matter. They had to grapple with cattle lifters too though lately, the phenomenon was in reverse as cattle, abandoned by traffickers, on the run from cow protection vigilantes, were given refuge in the gaushalas. The cost of maintenance rose, and the kinnar toli struggled to provide for the growing number of kine, about 500 in the last count.
"I fear for my life as we are under attack by some dabang people!" she cried over the phone just three weeks before her death.
She also shared her fears with Dr Srikrishna Pal, Goraksha Dal functionary, in charge of numerous vigilante units in Uttar Padesh. The police were informed about these assaults but failed to provide the necessary protection. A senior kinnar was abducted and slain two years before.
Sakhibai's body was buried at midnight near the local idgah as her guru had been a Muslim though she herself was a devout Hindu who celebrated festivals, fasted during the Navratris and hosted bhandaras.
Before her death, she had anointed Mayabai, as her successor. Sakhibai's violent end presages trouble for the work of goseva and animal welfare instituted by her as reports of simmering tensions over control of land have begun to surface.
The primary reason why her legacy needs to be perpetuated is that her toli did much to vest the third sex with dignity, negating stereotyped media and cine projections of eunuchs/transgenders as criminalised, aberrant and sex vendors. These are images that have been reinforced by their crass portrayal in popular culture.
On the contrary, only those who committed themselves to their guru's mandate of goseva and religious observances were admitted into the toli. Its numbers hover about 25. So endearing was her presence and conduct that she served as a guru to many families, interceding to help them resolve various problems.
The April 2014 Supreme Court judgement that recognised eunuchs as the third sex as well as a socially and economically backward category which was entitled to reservations had certainly helped boost their status. However, they remain marginalised, being sought out mainly for their dancing skills and power to bless.
The last owes to the widespread belief in their occult faculties which makes them feared too as their curses are considered as potent as their blessings. By rendering service to kine and other creatures, Sakhibai and her group added a more meaningful dimension to otherwise joyless lives.



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT FRANKLY SPEAKING REALPOLITIK ISI WEB DRUG MENACE IN PUNJAB FARMERS' LOAN WINDOW ON M.P. HIMACHAL AGONY LOOKING BACK SIGNS OF THE TIMES PAKISTAN TODAY DRAGON DRILL IN TIBET MODI'S DIPLOMACY GLOBAL AFFAIRS REVIEW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HITS & MISSES DIARY BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR CHANGING TIMES THIRD SEX YOGA IN DAILY LIFE A SPRITUAL GURU ART OF LIVING Issue:August' 2018 Subscribe Now	THIRD SEX Saga of a Kinnar guru Anuradha Dutt Sakhibai Gaushala Aphone call from Kosi Kalan in the evening of July 7 broke the news of Sakhibai's death. "Mataji maari gai!" cried Rajesh, her nephew. This was not unexpected as the kinnar guru who ran three gaushalas in Kosi, renowned for the Kokilavan Dham that houses a widely revered 5,000-year-old Lord Shani shrine, had been anticipating her own killing over the five years that I knew her. It was a death foretold by her but still shocking that she was gunned down, and that too in broad daylight. In Surir police thana files, blame for the murder was fixed on a rival eunuch group, headed by Rani kinnar, who is currently lodged in jail along with three others for their involvement in the crime. The apparent trigger for the deadly assault was a dispute between the two groups over their work territories, with Rani kinnar reportedly demanding that Sakhibai's toli forgo a part of its operating area in her owntoli's favour. When Sakhibai refused to comply, Rani lured her to Surir village on some pretext, and then one person shot the former dead. The slain guru's kin suspect a contract killing. Thus ended abruptly the 70-yearold kinnar guru's saga. Memories of her loving care of kine and other voiceless creatures, spiritual resoluteness and uncanny prescience cast light on a unique individual who managed to transcend the quirks of destiny to leave a deep impress upon the sands of time. Born as a hermaphrodite into a well-off Yadav family in Mainpuri, she was taken away when she was seven years old by Shantibai, a Muslim kinnar guru, and brought to Kosi where she was to spend her life. In addition to engaging in traditional badhai work such as Operating from some roughly constructed rooms, meant for her group members, employees and assistants, just off the Delhi- Mathura highway, the organisation mobilised resources to tend kine, a few buffaloes, cats, dogs and exotic birds. Local people dropped by to socialise and to buy milk as that was a major source of income, but occasionally to pressurise Sakhibai to part with her considerable assets. Sakhibai caresses her cows dancing at weddings and blessing couples and new born babies and being generously rewarded, Mataji or Mummyji, as she was known locally, set up the Animal Welfare Society. Operating from some roughly constructed rooms, meant for her group members, employees and assistants, just off the Delhi-Mathura highway, the organisation mobilised resources to tend kine, a few buffaloes, cats, dogs and exotic birds. Local people dropped by to socialise and to buy milk as that was a major source of income, but occasionally to pressurise Sakhibai to part with her considerable assets. The cattle grazing land that Shantibai had left to sustain the gaushalas fuelled the greed of the land mafia, active in the region. Skirmishes that turned violent erupted occasionally as the kinnars fended off covetous assailants. Filing of complaints and FIRs at the local police station, and visits to the Agra court for hearings was a routine matter. They had to grapple with cattle lifters too though lately, the phenomenon was in reverse as cattle, abandoned by traffickers, on the run from cow protection vigilantes, were given refuge in the gaushalas. The cost of maintenance rose, and the kinnar toli struggled to provide for the growing number of kine, about 500 in the last count. "I fear for my life as we are under attack by some dabang people!" she cried over the phone just three weeks before her death. She also shared her fears with Dr Srikrishna Pal, Goraksha Dal functionary, in charge of numerous vigilante units in Uttar Padesh. The police were informed about these assaults but failed to provide the necessary protection. A senior kinnar was abducted and slain two years before. Sakhibai's body was buried at midnight near the local idgah as her guru had been a Muslim though she herself was a devout Hindu who celebrated festivals, fasted during the Navratris and hosted bhandaras. Before her death, she had anointed Mayabai, as her successor. Sakhibai's violent end presages trouble for the work of goseva and animal welfare instituted by her as reports of simmering tensions over control of land have begun to surface. The primary reason why her legacy needs to be perpetuated is that her toli did much to vest the third sex with dignity, negating stereotyped media and cine projections of eunuchs/transgenders as criminalised, aberrant and sex vendors. These are images that have been reinforced by their crass portrayal in popular culture. On the contrary, only those who committed themselves to their guru's mandate of goseva and religious observances were admitted into the toli. Its numbers hover about 25. So endearing was her presence and conduct that she served as a guru to many families, interceding to help them resolve various problems. The April 2014 Supreme Court judgement that recognised eunuchs as the third sex as well as a socially and economically backward category which was entitled to reservations had certainly helped boost their status. However, they remain marginalised, being sought out mainly for their dancing skills and power to bless. The last owes to the widespread belief in their occult faculties which makes them feared too as their curses are considered as potent as their blessings. By rendering service to kine and other creatures, Sakhibai and her group added a more meaningful dimension to otherwise joyless lives.