At Mitr Trust, Rudrani works with hundreds of young trans people who often have to choose between living as a man or joining a Hijra family. Rudrani is respectful of the Hijra traditions but feels it confines people like herself. She dreams of carving out a space for the modern trans identity in Indian society and sees the modelling agency as a vehicle for that change. 

Rudrani has a complex and often tense relationship with her biological family. Her father was proud to have two sons. He worked hard to send them both to good schools and was disappointed by Rudrani’s choice to live as a trans woman. Rudrani maintains a caring relationship with her mother, but misses family life desperately

Rudrani is a striking, confident and funny trans woman in her late 30’s. Born male to an educated middle-class family in Delhi, she studied at an all-boys school where she was teased for being effeminate. She began to transition after university. Wanting to respect the cultural traditions that had come before her, she joined Laxmi Narayan Tripathi’s Hijra group. Inspired by her activism, Rudrani quickly became Laxmi’s protégée. 

Keen to support others, Rudrani left Laxmi’s Hijra family and set up the Mitr Trust in 2005 – a community-based charity which provides trans-Hijras with medical help, HIV testing, as well as legal and emotional support. Full of laughter, dance and love, the Trust has become a safe space for the Hijra and LGBTQ+ community from Delhi and beyond.

Despite numerous horrific attacks from ‘clients’, Chandini feels sex work is the only source of income she can rely on. In recent years, she has started performing baby blessing ceremonies and giving blessings at a local temple – however, she never joined a Hijra family. Forever the optimist, she found herself inspired by Rudrani’s modelling venture and jumped on board. Now in her late 60’s, sex work is becoming increasingly difficult, and she faces a desperately uncertain future. 

Chandini is an exceptionally generous, vivacious and high-spirited trans woman in her late 60’s who wants her story to be told. She was born male to a poor Christian family. A bold and expressive person, she couldn’t hide her ‘effeminate’ nature and loved ‘dressing up’ in traditional girls’ clothes. Chandini is one of five siblings and as a child suffered severe sexual abuse and started sex work, saying “it’s better than doing it for free all the time”.

She began to openly transition in her 30’s after her father passed away. Ever since his death, she has lived with and cared for her ageing mother. Having been abandoned by the rest of the family, they sleep side by side in a small room. 

Since the election of a Hindu government in 2014, Laxmi began to work closely with religious and political leaders to promote the ‘holy’ Hijra identity. She is now head of a ‘holy’ Hijra sect and flamboyantly parades around large religious festivals offering blessings. Working closely with the ruling party has put her at odds with the more liberal LGBTQ+ campaigners in India.

Laxmi is a commanding and charismatic presence. Dressed in bright, traditional attire, adorned in gold and covered in holy symbols, she often has people lining the streets to touch her feet for blessings. She was born male to a middle-class religious Hindu family. Her family has always been supportive of her gender, allowing her to dress as she pleased, protecting her from bullies, and encouraging her to learn classical Indian dance. Laxmi became an accomplished Kathak dancer and a formidable activist for her community. She has given multiple TED talks and has represented the trans-Hijra community at the UN. She was the lead petitioner in the 2014 High Court judgement which recognized Hijras as a third gender. Having appeared on reality TV shows and written two books on trans identities, she is the most recognizable Hijra in India today.