Be Like Gauri Sawant: A Mother who Does not Bothers, Raising a Child Alone!!

Posted on : 27th April 2017
Nothing can stop a mother from showing her heart out for her child, not the religion, not the colour and not even the gender! Gauri Sawant, a transgender, mothered an adopted child so adroitly that many out there cannot dare to do. Crossing all the boundaries, all the bondages, all the taboos adopted, the girl child Gayatri, at the age of 6 saving her from having been ditched into the bog.

She is a transgender born and brought up in Pune and has been living in Mumbai from last 20 years. She is also known with the name Kahla by all her acquaintances. She has recently been featured in the Vicks Ad of India. She works as a social worker nowadays at the age of 37. She transformed herself from Ganesh to Gauri after she realised that there’s something that makes her feel like a woman. Gauri was born to a conservative family in Pune. At the age of 9, her mother passed away after which her grandmother took care of her and she realised then that she is not like other fellow boys. She felt that, she was attracted towards male which actually unusual. Her classmates in school used to throw derogatory comments at her.

As she grew, she was perplexed on her gender identity, as she had no idea what it is to be a gay. She could not understand why she lied dressing up in her grandmother’s sarees and do with the makeup like a woman. While she was in college, it was awkward for her to be dress up like a female and so, she chose to wear kurtas which are not specific to any gender. Gradually, she recognised, inside her, a woman and so she left her home.

The Humsafar trust helped her through her journey from Ganesh to Gauri and though the period she underwent transition to become Gauri, a form she was actually comfortable in. With a small team in 2000, she formed an NGO in Mumbai named 'Sakhi Char Chowghi'. She wanted to help all the transgender there in the city. After a long year of struggle now she works with a team of 150 continuously extending a helping hand to all the transgender in need. She has been the petitioner of the NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) which led to introduction of a third gender in 2013.

Nobody can even think of gathering courage to become a single mother after such a struggling phase in life. But Gauri is the one who did! After these long years of struggle she dared to take charge of a child as a mother. This proves that, your gender cannot decide if you can be a mother or not that’s a feeling inside one’s heart. Her 16 year old daughter, Gayatri, was left by her family after her mother died of HIV. Grandmother of Gayatri decides to sell her granddaughter to a dealer in the Sonagachi area which is one of the well knows red light areas in Kolkata. When Gauri got cognisance of the whole matter she could not stop herself and decided to adopt the orphaned child against all odds. This wasn’t an easy task for a transgender. On various occasions while she walked with Gayatri, there were people who were apprehensive of her motherhood. But to everyone’s surprise and against all odds she raised her child as a mother, the way other mothers do. It’s inspiring that now her daughter studies in a good school and she lives in a hostel.

Mother’s day is around the corner and it will be an injustice to this courageous mother for the step she has taken all on her own. She is an inspiration for the society for all those who think that a single mother and that too from an entirely different world can be an inspiration for all the mothers out there. Gauri aspired to become a Policeman but she could not do that and she wants her daughter to take forward her dream. She is a confident mother and hopes to provide everything that her daughter needs. Her story is an inspiring one and a perfect example to define Motherhood on Mother’s Day.