Unlearning Prejudice: A Reader’s Journey with ‘The Truth About Me’

I am reading this book “The Truth About Me,” which is written by “A. Revathi”. Revathi belongs to the Hijra community and in the book she talks about all her struggles. In her childhood, she felt confused about her feelings, which did not appear normal to society or herself. She describes her awful anguish in a man’s clothes when all she wanted was to be dressed as a woman.

This book has been on my shelf for almost a year now. One of my friends gifted me this on my last birthday. I have read 60 pages so far and I am aww stuck. This book is translated from the Tamil language into English. In the 60 pages, I got to know about (a) The struggle of the community, and (b) The values of the community. I remember a few lines that the author’s guru told her when she was up to start her journey in the community.

Since this Hindi country respects us so much, we must behave in a manner that is worthy of that respect.

In my life, I have encountered many aravani. Aravani is a word that one should use for the community. Now, closely because one of the gurus of the community considers my mother a good friend. I remember once going to their home. She offered me some dry fruits and soft drinks and gave me a five hundred rupee note as a shagun. I remember sitting in her lap. She was the sweetest.

But, from childhood, I held narrow views of the community. I used to think that the community was not doing anything for themselves. They are not working hard enough for a good lifestyle. That they should quit bad habits and follow an ideal path. However, this book has shown me a crucial truth. Their struggles are far more complex than I ever imagined. Sometimes what we think of as bad habits are helping people to survive in this Harsh-Harsh society. They don’t drink out of leisure, but to numb the pain of their experiences.

I must have been living with a good girl’s theories until I read this book. And now I am regretting it the most. This, I consider the power of a good book, which forces you to rethink all your values. This book helped me encounter real struggles faced by the community. The factors which I never considered before coming to any conclusion. Now that I know how much I needed this book, I would like to thank the author for writing these words.

Also, there is one more thing that I learned from the book but that I would love to share in a different blog.

Keep reading different genres!