India's First Transgender Band Don't Want To Be Hidden Away

NEW DELHI: “It might seem crazy what I’m about to say;Sunshine she's here, you can take a break; I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space; With the air, like I don't care, baby, by the way” -- croon brightly dressed and obviously happy members of a band called ‘6 Pack Band’ in their cover of Pharrell William’s hit “Happy.” In another song, “Sab Rab De Bande”, the band collaborates with Indian musical superstar Sonu Nigam, as the song itself is inspired by a beautiful Guru Granth Sahib couplet, ‘Sab Rab De Bande’ instilling the message that ALL are equal in the eyes of the Almighty.

These two songs take on an added context when you look at the band in question. 6 Pack Band is India’s first transgender band .. and their music is soulful, uplifting, fun and packed with messages of equality, justice and harmony in a way that doesn’t preach but sings to you (pun intended).

All this is more impressive when you hear the stories of the band members. Komal Jagtap used to work as a wedding singer. “From the outside, I was male,” Jagtap told The Guardian, remembering when she was Bhavesh, the son of traditional parents. “Inside, I felt like a girl. The way I talked and walked, everyone could see I was different. I used to feel this isn’t my family. I don’t belong here.”

“People would taunt my parents saying, ‘A hijra was born in your house.’ Because they had to face so much trouble, they stopped talking to me.”

When she was just eight years old, the pressure got too much and she left home. “My brother and sister told me, ‘You should wear trousers and shirts and everything will be OK.’ But I said, ‘That isn’t who I am.’ The first time they saw me wearing a sari, my relations said, ‘Don’t try to see us any more, you are dead to us.’ I have never gone back.”

Jagtap found herself in a transgender community, and finally, for the first time in her life -- felt that she was home; that she fit in.

Jagtap’s story is perhaps the story of India’s entire transgender community -- which numbers approximately 2 million people, all of whom are routinely harassed and discriminated against, pushed to the fringes of society. “When we walk on the streets, people call us names. They warn children to stay away. My guru would say, ‘Look, we are hijras. People laugh at us, but you must never show your pain,”” Jagtap tells The Guardian.

As she made a living out of singing at weddings, and harbouring desires for things much bigger -- Jagtap’s life changed last spring, when Y Films decided to launch India’s first transgender band. Patil had all the ingredients in place -- the financing, the experience, the choreographers, even Sonu Nigam. All that was missing was perhaps the key ingredient -- the band.

Cue Komal, Bhavika Patil, Fida Khan, Chandrika Suvarnakar, Asha Jagtap and Ravina Jagtap -- all transgender, all amazing, and all very, very hard to find. “There’s no Indian Idol for trans people,” Patil told The Guardian. “We stopped at traffic lights and looked on trains to find people. But when we approached them, they would say, ‘Why should we believe you when our own parents have done nothing for us?’ So they wouldn’t turn up for auditions. We needed to win their trust.”

Another challenge was that auditions were flooded by fame-hungry non-trans men, who had to be carefully weeded out.

Eventually, after months of auditions and boot camps, 6 Pack Band were formed. And we are so glad they exist!

Their first song, Hum Hain Happy, has over 1.7 million YouTube views. “The song Happy captures the philosophy of the community. Despite all the prejudices against them, the community is always happy; they come clapping, bless us and leave,” Patil told The Hindustan Times.

‘Sab Rab De Bande’ with Sonu Nigam has over 3 million views.

“Since the time we’ve come together, this project has been nothing less than a dream,” Komal told The Hindustan Times. And a dream it has been -- as Komal and her bandmates lead a life more similar to Miley Cyrus than they do to ordinary trans people in India.

But Komal, as quoted in The Guardian, has an important message -- There will always be a child born in a house somewhere that is a hijra. But they deserve to live, too. Don’t hide them away. Don’t keep them in a cage. And if you can’t accept them, let them live with people who understand them. Set them free. Because of 6 Pack Band, I’ve proved to the world I can do something. Call me names if you want. I am proud to be called a hijra. I’m a singer in 6 Pack Band. Today, I am someone.”