Naming love, and claiming it

When trans individuals in Chennai emerge from gender-affirming surgeries, they are often left to recover alone. For many, the difference between isolation and healing was a woman named Dayamma Ramya.

- DIYA MARIA GEORGE

"She used to stay with them, 45 days, one month, two months, until they fully recover," says Srijith Sundaram, a theatre artiste and director of Kattiyakkari. "Even when someone passes away, she takes responsibility for the funeral rites. Everyone knows Dayamma will take care of everything."

A revered trans elder and artiste from North Madras, Ramya Thaayamma, better known as Dayamma, spent decades caring for others, often without recognition. "For 20 years, she has been with me like a mother," says Srijith. "In all my projects, she plays a key role, even if she isn't in the spotlight." Now, she is.

Three years after her passing, her legacy takes centre stage at the Dayamma Theatre Festival organised by Kattiyakkari, Trans Community Kitchen, and Alliance Française de Madras. The festival, named in her honour, is professionally run, crowd-funded and unapologetically queer.

"If she saw what we're doing now, she'd say, 'Life should be celebrated like this.' That's what she always believed," Srijith says. For its organisers, the event is both a tribute and a protest.