ALLAHABAD: It was the first peshwai, or ‘Devatva Yatra’ as they prefer to call it, taken out by the Kinnar Akhara at the Prayagraj Kumbh. Despite being denied recognition by the Akhara Parishad, comprising 13 main akharas, the kinnars literally stole the show with their procession on Sunday drawing the largest crowd one has ever seen at any peshwai in this Kumbh.The historic moment came for the akhara about three years after it was formed and participated in Ujjain Kumbh where it took out its first peshwai ever. The akhara mahamandaleshwar, Swami Laxminarayan Tripathi, astride a camel, had only one message for the patriarchal system that she is trying to breach. “We don’t need certification from the 13 akharas. We are Sanatani Hindus and are demi-gods as per the ‘ shastras’. We are here despite efforts to keep us out,” she said.Kinnar Akhara’s Devatava Yatra in AllahabadHundreds of kinnars or transgenders from across India came to participate in the ‘devatva yatra’, marked by a riot of colours, disco beats, bands playing patriotic music interspersed with paeans to the gods and showering of flowers. There was very little saffron in the procession, setting it apart from other religious processions at the Kumbh.And it was not just the pomp and show that made thousands of onlookers line the streets. The procession stopped every few metres and families approached the raths to take blessings from kinnars who collected offerings of devotees and gave flowers and coins as blessings.While some, dressed as Goddesses, sat coyly in their chariots and gently blessed the believers, others rode on horses wielding swords. “We are Hindus, marking the return of kinnars to the Sanatan fold. Nobody can dictate us how we should follow our religion. There are kinnars of all kinds in this procession, some dressed as ‘Kali’, some as brides. We all belong to one dharma,” said Aanchal, as she threw fistfuls of flowers towards a cheering crowd.“My Lord was born in Ayodhya and his temple should be there. I don’t stand for bloodshed but a Muslim ruler demeaned the dignity of Hindus when he demolished the Ram temple that stood there,” said Laxminarayan Tripathi, the mahamandaleshwar of Kinnar akhara.In the same breath, Tripathi, who claimed to have adopted Sanatan dharma to subvert it in its current distorted form, condemned violence in the name of cow saying that religion had been taken over by patriarchy and had lost its essence in how it was being practised.“Those people who are killing in the name of cows don’t know how to perform a havan, can’t recite a single mantra,” she said.The kinnar akhara, yet to get recognition from the male dominated Akhara Parishad, expressed gratefulness to UP government and administration for allotting them space in Kumbh Mela ground. But Tripathi says that chief minister Yogi Adityanath did not have time to meet her. “The administration has been very helpful and has not discriminated against us,” she said.Tripathi, a popular face in the fight for LGBT rights and took active part in protests and debates against section 377, faced her share of criticism for turning to the right wing. However, she says that she is using religion for mass sensitization and removing the stigma against transgender community. “Lakhs of people gathered around us when we took out our procession. Being secular or non-secular has become fashionable. If I am a high priestess of Hindu Sanatan Dharma, I can practice what I feel is right. When I defended the scrapping of article 377, many Godmen spoke against me but I will do what I think is right,” she said.

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