Kalki Subramaniam

Activist

Kalki Subramaniam

Born|

Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India

Nationality| Indian
Occupation(s)| Activist, actor, artist and writer
Years active| Since 2005

Kalki Subramaniam is a transgender rights activist, social worker, artist, actress, writer, inspirational speaker and entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu. She is also the southern region representative and member of the National Council for Transgender Persons in India.

## Early life

[edit]

Kalki was born in Pollachi, a town in Tamil Nadu.[1] Born into a working-class family, Kalki was an academically bright student. Kalki holds two master's degrees: Masters in Journalism Mass Communication and Masters in International Relations. During her postgraduate studies, she started publishing a monthly magazine in Tamil for transgender women called Sahodari (which means sister). This is the first Tamil magazine published for transgender people in India.[2] Kalki also lived in Auroville for many years.

## Activism

[edit]

From 2005, Kalki has campaigned for transgender rights in India. She is known for her innovative activism using technology, art, films, and literature as tools to voice for transgender empowerment. She was one of India's well-known campaigners behind the Supreme Court of India's judgment legalizing transgender identity.[3] In 2009 when a popular matrimonial website rejected the matrimonial listing of a transgender woman, she took it as a challenge and launched India's first matrimonial website for transgender people.[4] The project was hailed as a bold attempt in upholding transgender people's rights. She has created more than 12 documentary films on LGBT rights and has also appeared in international documentary films.[5] In 2010, she trained many underprivileged transgender women in community journalism and encouraged them to make short documentary films telling their own stories.[6] When she lived in Auroville, she protested against encroachments of village lands by Auroville.[7] In October 2019, Kalki organised the first LGBTQI pride march in Coimbatore city of Tamil Nadu.

## Entrepreneurial ventures

[edit]

In 2008, Kalki founded the Sahodari Foundation, an organization that advocates for transgender people in India.[8] In 2017, Subramaniam found the Thoorikai art project, through which she has trained more than 200 transgender people in creating expressive artworks supporting their livelihood through workshops.[9]

## Film career

[edit]

In 2011, Kalki starred in a lead role in a Tamil film, Narthagi, which focused around the lives of transgender people. She made a special appearance in the 2018 film Sarkar in the song "Oru Viral Puratchi" which made her very popular.[10][11] She is the first transgender woman in India to do a lead role in a motion picture.[12] In 2019, Subramaniam acted in a lead role in a parallel Hindi feature film named Kalashnikov - The Lone Wolf which won the best film jury honours at the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival.[13]

## Art

[edit]

Kalki's artworks are considered vibrant and colourful. She has been invited to US, Canada, Netherlands, and Germany to speak on art and activism.[14] In 2016, Subramaniam sold her paintings through a crowdfunding campaign and funded the education of underprivileged transgender women.[15] She uses art to find a voice without words, providing transgender victims of sexual and physical abuse a freedom to express their pain through art called the Red Wall Project, also known as the Shut Up! Show.[16] Hundreds of transgender people have participated in the project across the different States of India and wrote their testimonials on a white paper with a red palm impression to show protest against sexual exploitation.[17] In November 2019, Kalki paid a tribute art show to the late Bollywood actress Sridevi by exhibiting digital portraits of Sridevi. She mentioned that Sridevi has been her inspiration since childhood.[18]

## The Redwall project

[edit]

The Redwall is a project that was found in 2018 by Kalki to make the voices of the transgender and gender-diverse people of India powerful. Kalki and the team of Sahodari Foundation have been interviewing more than 500 transgender and gender-diverse survivors of sexual abuse and assault from various states of India including People living with HIV (PLHIV), documenting their experiences as first-person accounts lives in depth. The stories transgender people painful experiences of bullying, rape and assault are documented by the team. This is a community art project where the participant writes the experience on a handmade paper and imprints their red palm on it. These testimonials are exhibited in academic institutions and galleries for public viewing and to show resistance against abuse.[19]

## Publications

[edit]

In 2015, Kalki's collection of Tamil poems on transgender lives titled Kuri Aruthean (குறி அறுத்தேன்) was published by Vikatan Publications. The collection consisted of 25 poems with line-drawings by Kalki.[20] She has also written number of articles and essays in online and print publications. In 2018, three of her poems from the poetry collection Kuri Aruthean were translated in German language and published in an art journal. Six of her poems from the book were adopted into poetic short films titled Vadu (The Scar) directed by herself.[21] She has also written many articles in Indian print and online publications on LGBT rights in India.

In 2021, Kalki published a collection of her English poems, monologue, essays and art titled 'We are not the Others' which was published by Notion Press.[22] The book has been included in the library of Harvard Kennedy School.[23]

In 2024, Kalki published a collection of her Tamil poems, short stories, essays and art titled 'Oru Thirunangaiyin Diary Kurippu' (ஒரு திருநங்கையின் டைரிக் குறிப்பு) which was published by Thirunangai Press.[24]

## Awards and Recognition

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In 2010, Kalki received international recognition when she was the official guest of the United States of America as a Human Rights Activist through IVLP and was honoured in the United Nations Office in New York City for her social work.[25] She is also a recipient of achievers award from Coimbatore Lawyers Association.[26]

In 2014, she was chosen by Facebook as one of the 12 inspiring women of the world who used Facebook for community development.[27] In 2016, she was nominated by NDTV for its Woman of Worth Award under the arts category.[28]

In February 2017, she was invited by Harvard Business School, Harvard University to speak on behalf of the sexual minorities, and represent the Indian transgender community. She received a standing ovation for her speech. She shared the chair with Telugu actor and Politician Pawan Kalyan, Manish Malhotra, R Madhavan and Meagan Fallone.[29] Inspired by Kalki's speech Pawan Kalyan later in his interview to the media said, he has plans to start a separate wing for the transgender people in his political party Jana sena of Andhra Pradesh.[30]

In 2018, Subramaniam was invited by Schwules Museum, Germany to present her artworks, poetry films and activism in an Artist Talk with Professor Claudia Reiche.[31] In June 2019, Kalki was invited by TransAmsterdam, a transgender art and culture organisation in Netherlands and was conferred the International Ambassador for Life title by the organisation.[32]

In October 2022, Subramaniam was invited to Harvard University, Cornell University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University to speak on her activism, art, literature and the Indian transgender history. [33]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kalki. "My Story". ai.eecs.umich.edu. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023.
2. ^ "Profile". Kalki Subramaniam. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018.
3. ^ Anil, Chintha Mary (11 June 2016). "Cutting the phallus and destroying binaries: Transgender activist Kalki's battle through art". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023.
4. ^ Mahadevan, Meenakshi (3 September 2009). "India's first transsexual matrimony site launched". News18. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019.
5. ^ Parthasarathy, Sindhuja (28 February 2015). "Breaking Free". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021.
6. ^ Roy, Mrinalika (13 December 2016). "India's transgender journalists give voice to community". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022.
7. ^ "ஆரோவில் அலறல் தடுக்கச் சென்றால் தாக்குகிறார்கள்! -Vikatan.com". 12 July 2014.
8. ^ "About Sahodari Foundation - Sahodari.org". Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024. `{{cite web}}`: `|archive-date=` / `|archive-url=` timestamp mismatch; 22 October 2009 suggested (help)
9. ^ "About Transhearts - Transhearts.org". Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
10. ^ "In Conversation With A Transgender Activist And World's First Transsexual Film Star". indiatimes.com. 15 May 2014.
11. ^ "Choosing to be a woman". DNA. 15 February 2015.
12. ^ "Bhopal gets drenched in Rainbow Colours: Bhopal Pride Parade - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
13. ^ "Kalki Subramaniam's film wins award in New Delhi- Times of India". Times Of India. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
14. ^ "My gender is not my only identity: Kalki Subramaniam - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
15. ^ "Transgender activist seeks crowdfunding - RITZ". RITZ magazine. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
16. ^ "The Red Wall Project". Sahodari Foundation. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
17. ^ Kannadasan, Akila (28 March 2019). "When transgender people tell their pain through Art". The Hindu. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
18. ^ Varma, Dinesh (21 November 2019). "A fan's tribute to a legend". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
19. ^ J. S., Harikumar (29 June 2019). "The Red Wall Project's art exhibition lends a voice to the LGBTQI community". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
20. ^ Kannadasan, Akila (5 January 2015). "Voices from the other side". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
21. ^ Sangeetha, P (25 March 2018). "I think it's time transgenders came to power: Kalki Subramaniam - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
22. ^ Modi, Chintan Girish (1 October 2021). "Interview: Kalki Subramaniam, author, We Are Not The Others: Reflections of a Transgender Artivist". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
23. ^ "We Are Not the Others: Reflections of a Transgender Artivist". hks.harvard.edu. 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
24. ^ TNN, TNN (21 October 2024). "Kalki Subramaniam releases her third book in city". Times of India. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
25. ^ Nair, Prajeet (7 March 2017). "I want voice to be the voice for the voiceless". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
26. ^ Pillai, Supria (8 January 2018). "For these transgenders, art is the weapon in their fight for dignity". Indus Scrolls. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021.
27. ^ Davidson, Danica (7 March 2015). "These women are so inspiring, even Facebook wants to share their stories". MTV. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022.
28. ^ "About the Nominee: Kalki Subramaniam". Women of Worth. NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023.
29. ^ Jeshi, K (3 January 2017). "When Kalki spoke at Harvard". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
30. ^ "Transgender Activist Kalki Subramaniam's speech receives a standing ovation at the Harvard University". Simplicity News. 18 February 2017. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
31. ^ Reiche, Claudia (17 November 2018). "Wie geht postkolonialer indischer Trans-Aktivismus heute". Queer.de (in German). Retrieved 1 December 2018.
32. ^ "We proudly present Kalki Subramaniam TransAmsterdam Ambassador for life". Transamsterdam. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023.
33. ^ "Kalki Subramaniam is the first Lgbt activist from India to speak at four Ivy League Universities". Pixstory. 10 December 2022. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.