The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
Grrrrrr Grrrrr. The cell phone vibrated in Karthik’s shirt pocket. The call was from Yamuna. Karthik was in an important meeting. But Yamuna is not the kind of person who would bother Karthik in her free time. She would also be pretty busy at work. Sure there should be something important.
“Sorry! I have to take this” said Karthik as he got up and walked out of the conference room. “Yes dear” said Karthik as he brought up the phone to his ear.
“Karthik! I just received a call from the apartment association office. Prasad called. He was yelling on the phone asking me, how we could rent out the apartment to Vidya” Yamuna’s voice trembled as she continued, “He has arranged for a special meeting tomorrow to discuss this. He asked both of us to be there at the meeting. It’s at 6 in the evening.” “Hmmm I thought so” said Karthik holding onto his composure. “It looks like he has a whole set of cohorts to back him.” “We expected this, right? Don’t be upset “said Karthik to Yamuna. “It seems Kumaraguru, the guy who lives across from us is very angry. He has been waiting for a reason to fight with us all these days” said Yamuna sulking. “So? Let him bring it on. Its our house. It is up to us whom we can rent it out to. If you go by the association rules, there is nothing wrong in what we did. What if he calls the meeting? Should we be scared? Let’s see” said Karthik in a confident tone. “Ok let’s talk this evening. I have a lot of work to do” “Okay dear“ said Karthik as he dropped off the call. -------------
Karthik and Yamuna work in the I.T industry. After living abroad for quite some time, they moved back to Chennai last year and settled down here. They own two luxurious apartments in a very expensive apartment complex close to the airport. They live in one and rent out the other. The earlier month when the last tenant moved out, they informed broker Paramasivam about the availability. Paramasivam is very well known to the two of them. When they were living abroad, it was Paramasivam who managed their apartments. Fifteen days back, Paramasivam slowly brought the topic to Karthik and Yamuna, “Sir! You and Yamuna madam are very nice people. You are very open minded. That is why I am asking you. If you do not feel like it, please don’t bother about it “said Paramasivam as he told them in detail, about Vidya and her unforgiving luck in finding a place to stay. “No one wants to rent out an apartment to her sir, poor thing”
The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
Karthik and Yamuna did not hesitate even a tiny bit. “We don’t have a problem” said Yamuna. “She has to keep the apartment well and should pay the rent on time. That’s it!” said Karthik. “She will pay the rent on time Sir. I know her quite well. If you are okay, I can arrange for her to pay an advance towards the apartment “ Paramasivam was excited. “Doesn’t she have to see the apartment first?” exclaimed Yamuna “Not necessary madam. Vidya is in Mumbai right now. As long as I tell her, she should be fine, she doesn’t have to see the apartment in person. She is very desperate in finding one” “Okay. Ask her to call us then” said Karthik. -------------
The very next day Vidya called. “Vanakkam! 1 Sir” said Vidya over the phone. “Hello! Vanakkam!” replied Karthik. “Sir, Paramasivam should have told you about me. I am a film editor. I work in TV serials. I travel a lot. I stay at home for 5 or 10 days in a month. I will pay the rent on time and will maintain the apartment really well” said Vidya. “No Problem Vidya. Paramasivam told me everything. You can move in any time” “Thanks a lot, Sir.“ Though Vidya cold not come in person, she immediately wire transferred the rent and the advance to Karthik. With Paramasivam’s help, she arranged to move her things into the apartment, the very next week. From milk, newspaper to gas connection and groceries, Paramasivam arranged for everything that Vidya may require in setting up a household. No one in the apartment complex knew about the new tenant. Kumaraguru’s wife met Yamuna in the elevator and very curiously asked, “The house looks very busy. Looks like it has been rented out, Is it so?” “Yes” replied Yamuna curtly.
1
“Vanakkam” means Greetings in Tamil
The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
“Who is the tenant?” “Her name is Vidya. She is a film editor, she works in TV serials.” “Is she the only one? Is there anyone else?” “No. Its only her.” “Is she young? Is she married?” “No. She is not married yet” “Oh! then that’s nice. If it is just one person, the water consumption would be less.” “I see her things have arrived. But I haven’t seen her yet?” “She is now in Mumbai for work. Broker Paramasivam is taking care of the move “ “Oh! Does she have to pay extra for that?” “I don’t know!” curtly replied Yamuna, yet again as she grew tired of the questions. “Money can buy anything these days. If you have money, things will arrive at your doorstep” . Yamuna smiled in agreement, rather unwillingly. -------------
Vidya moved in last week. She brought flowers and sweets as she came to meet Yamuna and Karthik for the first time. Since it was their first meeting, Vidya was quite shy and hesitant in her demeanor. Yamuna and Karthik introduced Vidya to Shruti, their 10 year old daughter. Yamuna then informed Vidya about the neighborhood, nearby stores and other details that will help Vidya settle down. “Please let us know any help that you may need“ She added. Vidya was very surprised and moved. “Thank you madam!” Her voice wavered as she replied back. Noticing that, Yamuna jumped in, ”Relax Vidya. What’s the big deal?” “No madam. You and Karthik sir are great human beings, you are so broad minded and welcoming. For the past six months, I have been trying to find a place in a decent area but in vain. I was staying in hotels all this time. Nobody was willing to rent me. You both did not even hesitate a little bit. I cannot explain how grateful I am“ -------------
The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
It was 6 PM the next day, its time for the association meeting in the club house. There are 10 bocks in that apartment complex, each block has about 12 apartments. If there is a problem in one of the blocks, people in that block alone meet up with the association secretary. If its a bigger issue affecting the whole complex, all the blocks will have a meeting together and if required vote and come to a decision. That day the meeting was at the block level. Kumaraguru, the guy who lives across, Secretary Prasad, other block residents, Motilal, Shrinivas, Aruna, Krishnamurthy, Raghuram and few others were present at the meeting. As Karthik and Yamuna entered the club house, they could felt the tension and seriousness. Folks were sitting there with a tight face and didn’t even smile at Yamuna and Karthik. “Hello” said Karthik. “Hello Karthik! Hello Madam! Please sit down” said secretary Prasad looking at the two of them. “So what’s up? Why is this special meeting?” Karthik started the conversation. “What’s up? You are acting as if you do not know what this is all about? Don’t act all innocent” yelled Kumaraguru, he was waiting for an opportunity to confront Karthik. “Kumaraguru, please don’t yell. We have come here to talk, not to fight” intervened Prasad. “Karthik, what is this? Don’t you realize yourself what you are doing is wrong?” “What is the problem Sir? What have I done wrong?” asked Karthik. “This is a very decent complex. Everyone is rightfully employed. We have toddlers, kids, oldies living here in this family area. Each one of us work hard and have eventually bought a place in a nice area to come live here. How could you rent out an apartment to an Ali 2?” Prasad cut to the chase and asked it right to Karthik’s face. “My tenant Vidya, is a Thirunangai 3 Sir. Ali is a pejorative. Please don’t use that word” replied Karthik promptly. “Ya right! Who cares!” mockingly said retired bank employee Krishnamurthy. Krishnamurthy’s all three kids live abroad. He lives in one apartment with his wife and owns three more of them. “Yes Sir. I care! It is important” said Karthik in a serious tone stressing the importance of his message.
2
“Ali” is a cheap, tasteless and derogatory term in Tamil used to refer Transgenders. “Thirunangai” is the Tamil word for Transgender women. In contrast, Thirunambi is used for Transmen. If literally translated, it means respected women or men. 3
The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
“Okay, fine. Thirunangai? Is that correct? Now lets not get diverted” said Prasad sulking. “How could you rent out your apartment to THAT? This is a family area. Did you even consider that before renting out your apartment?” “What are you saying Kumaraguru? Thirunangais are also human beings, aren’t they? They have a family too. Vidya is educated and employed. She is a very responsible citizen. She won’t be a nuisance to anyone. If there is an issue, let me know and I will ask her to vacate.” clarified Karthik. Yamuna watched the entire proceeding silently. She expected this drama. Karthik is a stubborn person. If he thinks something is right, he would fight to the end for it. It is not so easy that one could make him falter or arm-twist him into doing anything else. This character of him is what attracted Yamuna to Karthik when they met during their college days. Their inter-caste marriage had lots of opposition but Karthik persisted and saw to it that nothing came in-between him and Yamuna. When Karthik’s father asked Yamuna to change caste, Karthik put his foot down and said no. Their marriage did not follow either of their traditions but rather was a happy, modest, non-casteist affair. Shruti is 10 years old now, for most of the time she was raised abroad and Karthik and Yamuna made sure she is not trapped into following the caste system. “Are you Kidding? We cannot allow such people in this apartment complex. Ask that to vacate immediately” said Kumaraguru acting as if he has oblivious to what was going on. “Kumaraguru, the house is mine. Who are you to tell me who should I rent it to?” asked Karthik in a raised voice. “Please don’t fight.” pleaded Prasad looking at them. By then, others who had been listening to the conversation started chiming in one after another. And so started Aruna, “Karthik, what you are doing is not correct. If you rent it out to disgusting people like this one, how can we live in this apartment complex?“ Aruna is employed in the I.T industry too, she lives with her husband and kids, in the apartment next to Karthik and Yamuna. “Aruna! Vidya is a very nice girl. If you get to know her, I am sure you would realize that too.“ interjected Yamuna. “My children are scared to look at that, Yamuna. My father-in-law who came down from Mambalam yesterday was disgusted, seeing Vidya. He didn’t want to stay, he immediately headed back to his home.” complained Aruna. “Yes. Not acceptable. No Hijras” Jeweler Motilal also voiced his opinion, supporting Aruna. “What are you saying? Why should we be disgusted seeing Vidya? Isn’t she a human being like the rest of us?” said Karthik looking at Aruna.
The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
“Please let’s not debate. This apartment complex is for families. That person cant stay here. Ask that to vacate immediately “ Aruna didn’t care what Karthik had to say. No one seemed to budge. Confusion ensued. Even as everyone joined together to go all out on karthik, he remained unperturbed. “So what if this is a family area? See, Mr. Krishnamurthy rented his apartment to a family claiming that no bachelors would be allowed to stay. What happened? The moment his mom and wife left the house for a couple of days, the guy who lived there, called all his friends and had a big drinking party. He made a mess of the place and caused nuisance to everybody. Don’t you remember? I mean that guy, Bhaskar from IOB “ Krishnamurthy could not reply back to Karthik. “Aruna, you were so particular that only your caste people occupied your apartment. What happened? Your last tenant beat the crap out of his wife and threw her out on that day when it was down pouring like crazy. Do you think it is okay for our kids to see all that domestic violence? Isn’t that scary? Isn’t that disgusting?” “Well we immediately asked them to vacate, didn’t we?” questioned Aruna . “Exactly! The same thing applies to Vidya. If she creates any nuisance, I myself will ask her to vacate. But without knowing anything about her, you cant stereotype and discriminate a whole sect.“ “Please don’t throw big words Karthik” sighed Aruna “Discrimination and all!” “Karthik, You live in an apartment complex and there are other families here. This is not an independent house where the owner decides what goes and what doesn’t .You have to stick by the rules and people like Vidya aren’t allowed in this complex” said Krishnamurthy. “There is no such rule in the association” shot back Karthik. “Is this your final decision?” asked Prasad looking at Karthik. “Yes! What you are demanding is not fair. As per the association rules, I shouldn’t rent the apartment to offices, that I didn’t. I am not breaking any rules here. I cannot ask Vidya to vacate. Sorry!” said Karthik very stubbornly making his point. Having listened to Karthik’s reply, Krishnamurthy got up in anger and walked out. “This is not right Yamuna” said Aruna. “This is not the end. Don’t think you won, Karthik. I will make sure that is vacated out of this complex” Kumaraguru challenged Karthik and walked away.
The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
The meeting ended and the group dispersed. -------------
Having listened to the event, Vidya was shaken to earth and was in tears. She offered her heartfelt thanks to Yamuna and Karthik, for standing up for her. “You and Madam are like a god to me, Sir” said Vidya tearing up. “Come on, Vidya!” said Karthik. “No one treats us with respect, Sir. We are a little different but we are human beings too. I can hardly believe that you and Yamuna madam rented out the apartment to me. Adding to that, I cannot even comprehend that you and madam stood up for me and fought with your neighbors. I have no words to express my gratitude” “We understand your struggle Vidya. We had a transgender woman as our neighbor in America. We were a little hesitant to mingle with her at first, but slowly we came to know her and realized she was also like the rest of us. We learnt a lot about transgender folks and about their lives through her. She is a very nice lady. Her name is Margaret and we consider her a part of our family. So much so that Shruti loves her Margaret aunty to death.” said Karthik to Vidya. “Yes Vidya. Give them some time. People here are nice too. They are worried without even getting to know you. You are going to live here, aren’t you? I am sure as they see you daily, they will come around to understand and accept you” said Yamuna confidently. -------------
Three days later, Vidya, Karthik and Yamuna received notices from the apartment association. Vidya read the notice and came running to Karthik. It was from secretary Prasad asking Vidya to vacate in a week. It said, with 90% vote, the association rules had been amended proscribing from renting the apartments to transgenders. Karthik was furious. “What nonsense? I knew they would be up to some trickery like this. Yesterday was Shruti’s birthday, otherwise, we could have gone to cast our vote too.” “It would not have made a difference Karthik. What can we do when 90% of the folks are against renting the apartment to transgenders? One or two votes for it, will not change anything” claimed Yamuna. She was shell shocked, she wasn’t expecting even a tiny bit that such a thing could transpire. “What if they have the majority? Does it mean they can make up any law at their whim? How unfair is this?” said Karthik in a furious tone.
The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
“Sorry Sir. You both should not suffer because of me. I will vacate in a week “said Vidya in a sad tone with her voice dropping out. “I won’t accept this. This is our home. Who are they to tell me what I should do?” “No Sir. You own here, You need not fight with your neighbors because of me. You are the one who has to live here permanently, not me” “I don’t care about the neighbors Vidya. At a time of need, these so called neighbors are not going to be there for us. We just want to be courteous and social. That’s it. Why should I care what they think? What do you say Yamuna?” “There is no point in fighting anymore Karthik. If it is an association rule, we need to comply with it. Otherwise, they can do anything, starting from cutting the water supply. Everything is written down in the bye-laws. We cannot do anything about it” said Yamuna assuaging to Karthik. “Damn it!” said Karthik disgusted and angry over the whole situation. “Sorry Vidya. We cannot do anything” said Yamuna accepting their defeat . Karthik thought for a while and sprang up in excitement. “ Yes! There is a way! Yamuna. There is one!” -------------
Yamuna bumped into Kumaraguru’s wife in the elevator again. Faking her sadness Kumaraguru’s wife asked, “So, it looks like the apartment is being vacated?” “Yes! “curtly replied Yamuna . “Why would you want to fight with your neighbors? It is not worth it, right? “ continued Kumaraguru’s wife. Yamuna did not reply. “We should not rent apartments to people like that, Yamuna. Please don’t get me wrong” The words pierced Yamuna, she was annoyed. “Why is that so?” What the hell, let me hear what she thinks, thought Yamuna and asked her the question. “What do you mean why? I mean.. What will that say about this complex to others? This is a nice, decent, family area. We should not rent our apartments to those people” “Oh! Is that so?”
The one in the house By Shridhar Sadasivan In English: Rashmi & S
“Yes, That is why the residents amended the rules in the complex. Now it is clear to everyone, no more nuisance, you see!” “I know! The rules say that we cannot rent our apartments to Transgenders. That is why we have asked Vidya to vacate immediately”
“BBB” “Actually! Vidya is going to move in to our apartment tomorrow. We have 3 bedrooms, right? It is more than enough for us. And Vidya will be in town only for 5-10 days a month. That makes it more easier for us” The news shook Kumaraguru’s wife as she raised her palm to cover her mouth to express the shock. “The association cannot make rules as to who can stay with us, can they?” smiled Yamuna. ------------About the co-translator: Translator of this story Rashmi and Gaysi are very thankful to Rashmi’s dear friend “S” who helped read this original post so Rashmi could record and translate it. “S” is a cis-straight ally and an ardent supporter of Queer rights - trans rights in particular. When not busy working with data, cooking, singing or just being goofy, S enjoys educating people about the necessity for treating everyone equally and fairly.