Pastiche of a colorful community living: Kinnars in Bhopal

The word society has come to exclude a certain part of our populace: Eunuchs; but secluded from
prejudiced eyes, the eunuchs have come to form their own society, their own community- one which
embodies the very foundations of this nation fraternity and secularity. In Urdu, there is a phrase which is
used to describe what Bhopal is known for- Jurdah, Purdah aur Namurdah, which means Chewing tobacco,
Muslims and Eunuchs, respectively. Kinnar is the family name adopted by the Eunuchs of Bhopal. The
Kinnars have a long strong history in Bhopal and they were originally referred to as Mangalware. Bhopal is
home to over 500 Kinnars, concentrated in the Mangalwara region, which was known for its
largeMangalware/ Kinnar population. The Kinnars are ostracized, and are thus confined to only this
particular region of the city. The Kinnar community hosts eunuchs from myriad castes, regions and religions.
They live in groups of 15-20 people in household units called Deras- which is synonymous to a fraternity
or a clan. Each Dera has a heirarchial Guru-Chela (master-disciple) relationship, and a fictive kinship by
which the Kinnars relate to each other. This relationship transcends religion and socio-cultural boundaries, as
each Kinnar may follow any religion of choice and is bound to no single one, nor to the religion of their
Guru.

They have living quarters which is an entirety of their

community space, as the Kinnars like to keep to themselves.
Each building represents a Dera, which has an elected head.
The whole ensemble of these lineages is recorded on the
interior walls, their history sung by pictures of every single
member of the household being hung on the walls, from the
ones who are deceased to the ones who are currently residing
there.

The Mangalware community consists of the eunuchs who live

in this particular region, and all of them live in a way similar
to, if not exactly the same as this one. Over time, the region has
been occupied by various other communities, which can be
distinguished from the original Mangalware by their lack of
secularity. How then do the Mangalware express their presence in a
place which is now so densely populated that it is hard to
distinguish one building from another? Each and every surface of
the buildings where the Mangalware live is covered from top to
bottom with brightly colored shapes and figures- floral patterns,
diamonds and spades, mosaic of every possible color, and brightly
colored ceilings with starkly contrasting patterns. The colors which
they use can be most aptly described by the Hindi word chatak,
the closest English word to which would be pop. This style of
decoration is quintessential to the nature of the Kinnars- their
resourcefulness and their fervent ardor to not let a single member of
the community be ostracized based on their gender or lack thereof.
By - Ritika Mandhyan Assistant Professor, Nitte SOA, Bangalore