"I had been raped by my Uncle almost 30 years back"- says Kajal Mangal Mukhi

Transgender, Kajal Mangal Mukhi has one motto in her life, 'nothing is impossible, everything's possible". Being in the transgender community for about two decades, she has explores her journey of being the neglected one amongst us.

The first time when she got her gender shock was when she was 4-5 years old. "I remember me along with my cousins had gone for a bath in a nearby pond of our village. And when we were all nude, I saw my sister and then I saw myself and realised that my body organs were different from hers. And I had a longing for that body rather than my male one." Most of the transgenders in India have a difficult childhood and face vengeance growing up. Kajal's case was not different. "I used to walk like girls and copied their hairstyles and gestures. I loved to wear my mother's sarees and my father used to scold me a lot. My childhood friends who were mainly girls started getting separated from me. At the tender age of 11, my Uncle recognised my gender confusion much before than me and raped me. He used to have dissent sex with me forcefully. And when I rebelled, he said he would tell my parents about me and I stayed silent. Maybe, if it would have happened in this age, I would have been able to do something but in those times it was quite difficult." She also shares how discrimination also happened with her in renowned Synergy office in Mumbai. "I used to watch Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000, and dreamed of going into the show once. In 2005, my dream almost came true as before I used to buy books and read all the general knowledge stuff from it as I am a 9th pass student with no further studies in my favor. I got a call that I have been selected for the KBC and called onto Mumbai's Synergy sets. I got very excited that I would be the first transgender to be on the show. I don't know till now if it was a setup by my trans friends or was it real. But, I left everything behind, my Dera, my Guru and my city to leave for Mumbai, even though my community people said that these kinds of shows are not for us. But I was excited. When I reached their office, the staff there was like why are you here and I told them that I have won the round to be a participant. However, they literally kicked me out that these shows are not for people like me. Even though I was disappointed, I learned a lot from the experience." Kajal has a very unusual kind of dream and blessings for the kids that she has met through the typical custom of calling on to this community at child birth and marriages. "I whisper in the ear of kids, that they are the future of India, so they should be dedicated, have strong minds and be nation's pride. Foreign countries have so many talented people and sportsmen who have got laurels for their countries so why not Indians? They also have the same brain, legs, hands and body make as foreigners? So, why are they more successful in every area? I want that even though I might have touched thousands or lakhs of kids during their birth, they should all be our country's pride."