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Thanuja
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November 19, 2024
"When I woke up after the surgery, I felt exhausted and nauseous. I sat up with the nurse's help and vomited into a cup. I could not seem new vagina yet. An hour later, they took me to my room to recuperate. A little later, my mother and siblings entered the room. I welcomed them with a weak smile and told them that the surgery was a success."
This book is the memoir of a great woman : Thanuja. It is translated from Tamil language by Kiran Keshavamurthy. Born Thanujan in 1991 in a small village called Mankumban in Sri Lanka, Thanuja's family fled to India as refugees. She was the third child to her parents, after a sister and a brother. Her father used to work in Germany. Her mother and the kids could not go to Germany due to visa constraints. As far as Thanuja was concerned, she did not have any documentation as she was merely a baby when the family moved to India illegally.
In India, they lived across various parts of Tamil Nadu in their relatives' houses. While there were some good, many illtreated Thanuja and her sister. Since childhood, she always fantasized wearing her sisters clothes, jewelry, and dressing up as a girl. Her sister was her best friend who understood her, and presented her with gifts and unconditional love.
The next phase was when Thanuja moved to Germany. Her parents never understood her sentiments. Her father used to come home and beat her everyday. Her brother did the same to her because he wanted to put out his frustration, and that was his way of venting out. At school, kids who were black skinned were termed as "forest dwellers" and were bullied by the white kids. Slowly, everyone realized that Thanuja was an effeminate. Some boys began to touch her purposefully and abused her. Thanuja then spoke about her relationships, interest in men, effeminacy, and many more about incidents.
During teenage, she believed and felt like a woman from within. She spoke about the traditions of transwoman, as she was preparing to become one. She was adopted by Priya Amma, who was introduced by Sundari Paati. These were my favorite people in the book. After a lot of relationships, being cheated and hurt, Thanuja finally underwent her gender reassignment surgery. Officially, Thanujan became Thanuja. She loved her body. To her surprise, her whole family supported her decision and stood by her. Her mother took care of her very well until she recovered.
When I saw the cover picture, I thought that Thanuja was born as a woman, until I got to know that it was a memoir of a transwoman (just like how Dr. Oscur mentioned). The tagline of the story says, "A memoir of migration and transition." But, let me tell you. This is about a person's strength, resilience, doing what you love, and never give up attitude. When I learned about the physical and the mental abuse that she endured during her childhood, my stomach churned and my heart wrenched. I really lost it when she said that beatings and thrashes were common to her. This story also tells us to respect everyone and never to judge them. Every living being on this earth deserves to be loved. The LGBTQ community needs to be respected and they need to get the right opportunities. I loved reading this memoir.
This book is the memoir of a great woman : Thanuja. It is translated from Tamil language by Kiran Keshavamurthy. Born Thanujan in 1991 in a small village called Mankumban in Sri Lanka, Thanuja's family fled to India as refugees. She was the third child to her parents, after a sister and a brother. Her father used to work in Germany. Her mother and the kids could not go to Germany due to visa constraints. As far as Thanuja was concerned, she did not have any documentation as she was merely a baby when the family moved to India illegally.
In India, they lived across various parts of Tamil Nadu in their relatives' houses. While there were some good, many illtreated Thanuja and her sister. Since childhood, she always fantasized wearing her sisters clothes, jewelry, and dressing up as a girl. Her sister was her best friend who understood her, and presented her with gifts and unconditional love.
The next phase was when Thanuja moved to Germany. Her parents never understood her sentiments. Her father used to come home and beat her everyday. Her brother did the same to her because he wanted to put out his frustration, and that was his way of venting out. At school, kids who were black skinned were termed as "forest dwellers" and were bullied by the white kids. Slowly, everyone realized that Thanuja was an effeminate. Some boys began to touch her purposefully and abused her. Thanuja then spoke about her relationships, interest in men, effeminacy, and many more about incidents.
During teenage, she believed and felt like a woman from within. She spoke about the traditions of transwoman, as she was preparing to become one. She was adopted by Priya Amma, who was introduced by Sundari Paati. These were my favorite people in the book. After a lot of relationships, being cheated and hurt, Thanuja finally underwent her gender reassignment surgery. Officially, Thanujan became Thanuja. She loved her body. To her surprise, her whole family supported her decision and stood by her. Her mother took care of her very well until she recovered.
When I saw the cover picture, I thought that Thanuja was born as a woman, until I got to know that it was a memoir of a transwoman (just like how Dr. Oscur mentioned). The tagline of the story says, "A memoir of migration and transition." But, let me tell you. This is about a person's strength, resilience, doing what you love, and never give up attitude. When I learned about the physical and the mental abuse that she endured during her childhood, my stomach churned and my heart wrenched. I really lost it when she said that beatings and thrashes were common to her. This story also tells us to respect everyone and never to judge them. Every living being on this earth deserves to be loved. The LGBTQ community needs to be respected and they need to get the right opportunities. I loved reading this memoir.
Displaying 1 of 1 review