Transgender folk dancer Manjamma Jogati, for her contribution to arts, received a Padma Shri award by President Ram Nath Kovind at the 2021 Padma awards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. While the Modi Government has proved that it is highly supportive of empowerment of the community, liberals are crying their noses off as the transgender awardee has depicted her nationalistic approach with her gestures and a picture that went viral across the media.
Padma Shri awardee blesses President
Manjamma Jogati, the first trans-president of the Karnataka Janapada Academy which is considered to be the state government’s top institution for folk art forms, blessed the President with a lovely demeanor before receiving the award.
In a video clip tweeted by news agency ANI, Manjamma Jogati can be seen stepping up to the stage towards the President and then blessed to wish him luck. While being handed over the award, the warm smile on her face clearly depicted her respect for the honour and also grabbed the eyeballs of every attendee.
Read more: A Padma Vibhushan for the man who proved the existence of Padmalochana Sri Ram’s Mandir
Transgender Manjamma’s nationalistic approach
In addition to that, a picture floating around social media showing Manjamma sitting next to a portrait of RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and Durga Maa as Akhand Bharat is the talk of the town these days. With this picture, it can be assumed that Manjamma shares a strong with RSS. Moreover, it also indicates the nationalistic approach of the LGBTQ community.
While the liberals along with the opposition always try to paint a picture that the LGBTQ community is all about sexual orientation and self-identification, the Padma Shri awardee has busted their myths to show that the community holds a tremendous belief in nationalism and patriotism.
Who is Manjamma Jogati?
Born in Kallukamba village near Bellary, Manjamma began to identify herself as a female in her teenage years. She had asserted, “I’d wear a towel around my hips as if it were a skirt. I’d help my mother with chores. I loved to be with the girls in my class, to dance and dress up. By the time I was 15, I had fully embraced my identity as a woman.”
The family, in an attempt to“cure” their child of these feminine tendencies, referred to a doctor and then to a priest, who said she was “blessed with Devi Shakti” (goddess power) and should be left alone.
Finally, in 1975, the parents took her to Huligeyamma’s temple, to be sanctified as a Jogappa. Reportedly, devotees of goddess Yellamma, Jogappas, or Jogatis are mainly trans people who believe that they are married to the goddess.
Her transformative journey began when she saw a father-son duo performing on the street. “This was Jogati nritya (a folk performance of the Jogappas) and I had always been fascinated by it. So I went up to the father, Basappa, and asked if he would teach me. Wonderfully, he agreed.”
Manjamma was also honoured with the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 2010 and her autobiography is part of the school syllabus and the Bachelor of Arts course at the Karnataka Folk University in Haveri district.
Well, the lady with her exemplary life story and nationalistic approach has given serious heartburn to liberals as their propaganda to separate the LGBTQ community has failed brutally.
