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Neither of us are fussed on traditional Christmas pudding so we bought this ready made dessert from Aldi. It claimed to be a hand finished Sloe & Elderberry Gin Cheesecake aka "baked vanilla flavour cheesecake with Sloe & Elderberry Gin liqueur on a biscuit base topped with blackcurrant glaze and decorated with malted cereal balls and a white chocolate drizzle". Despite not being a lover of Gin, I can confirm it is absolutely scrummy 😋
Taken on my kitchen worktop with my iPhone 6s using the Hipstamatic App then slid a little through the Prisma App using today's free "Snowman" filter. Happy Sliders Sunday!
Neither of the girls seem to know that when the clocks go back we're supposed to get an extra hour in bed :) This is at the end of a walk through an empty town.
The Black bears and Red wolves often feed in the same soybean fields. They tolerate each other very well, with neither species taking much interest in the other. The bears eat soybean greens, and the wolves look for rodents in the field.
Neither a magpie nor a lark, but a mud-nesting member of the Monarchidae family. Botanic Gardens of Sydney, Australia
Neither are calculated events always veracious nor do you often find yourself in the best location.
Well, the Lady was magnanimous.
Neither of my guides in South Africa were very keen on stopping for photos of birds. That really didn't bother me much as birds have proven to be much faster than I am. I do have a little more luck capturing larger birds as they seem to stay still perched for a longer time. I asked my guide to stop for this pose. I loved the light on his bill.
This was part of the shoots from the Powai lake promenade.
I've a confession to make: I was not too happy with the low occupancy or rather the less amount of lights, neither did I have patience to wait for more window lights to come on :)
So I increased the occupancy using Photoshop :).
I hope the hotel management is happy with it ;)
Neither of us is impressed with our early taste of winter here. I have never caught a warbler in the snow before.
Fortunately, their diet also includes berries as well as insects. I often see them feeding on Red Osier Dogwood berries in the fall. These are hardly little birds and often stay here well into fall along with Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Gold Bar Park. Edmonton. Albeta.
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I'm stampolina and I love to take photos of stamps. Thanks for visiting this pages on flickr.
I'm neither a typical collector of stamps, nor a stamp dealer. I'm only a stamp photograph. I'm fascinated of the fine close-up structures which are hidden in this small stamp-pictures. Please don't ask of the worth of these stamps - the most ones have a worth of a few cents or still less.
By the way, I wanna say thank you to all flickr users who have sent me stamps! Great! Thank you! Someone sent me 3 or 5 stamps, another one sent me more than 20 stamps in a letter. It's everytime a great surprise for me and I'm everytime happy to get letters with stamps inside from you!
thx, stampolina
For the case you wanna send also stamps - it is possible. (...I'm pretty sure you'll see these stamps on this photostream on flickr :) thx!
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Austria - Europe
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beautiful stamp wilding ER Elizabeth Briefmarke timbre Wilding 2 1/2d 2.5p UK United Kingdom Great Britain E R GB England Commonwealth Grossbritannien Queen Elizabeth QEII selo postage "pre decimal" revenue Royal Mail Windsor revenue 2.5 d 2 1/2 d timbre stamp selo franco bollo postage porto sellos marka briefmarke francobollo revenue frankatur ელისაბედ II エリザベス2世, 伊麗莎白二世 , एलिजा़बेथ , ملکہ الزبتھ II Elisabetta II , Елізавета ІІ ,
more info about Queen Elizabeth II. on Wikipedia:
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(South_Asia)
Hijra (for translations, see [n 1]) is a term used in South Asia – particularly in India and Pakistan – to refer to trans women (male-to-female transgender individuals).[1][2] In different areas of Pakistan and India, transgender people are also known as Aravani, Aruvani or Jagappa.[3]
In Pakistan and Bangladesh, the hijras are officially recognized as third gender by the government,[4][5] being neither completely male nor female. In India also, transgender people have been given the status of third gender and are protected as per the law despite the social ostracism. The term more commonly advocated by social workers and transgender community members themselves is khwaja sira (Urdu: خواجہ سرا) and can identify the individual as a transsexual person, transgender person (khusras), cross-dresser (zenanas) or eunuch (narnbans).[6][7]
Hijras have a recorded history in the Indian subcontinent from antiquity onwards as suggested by the Kama Sutra period. This history features a number of well-known roles within subcontinental cultures, part gender-liminal, part spiritual and part survival.
In South Asia, many hijras live in well-defined and organised all-hijra communities, led by a guru.[8][9] These communities have sustained themselves over generations by "adopting" boys who are in abject poverty, rejected by, or flee, their family of origin.[10] Many work as sex workers for survival.[11]
The word "hijra" is an Urdu word derived from the Semitic Arabic root hjr in its sense of "leaving one's tribe,"[12] and has been borrowed into Hindi. The Indian usage has traditionally been translated into English as "eunuch" or "hermaphrodite," where "the irregularity of the male genitalia is central to the definition."[13] However, in general hijras are born with typically male physiology, only a few having been born with intersex variations.[14] Some Hijras undergo an initiation rite into the hijra community called nirwaan, which refers to the removal of the penis, scrotum and testicles.[11]
Since the late 20th century, some hijra activists and Western non-government organizations (NGOs) have lobbied for official recognition of the hijra as a kind of "third sex" or "third gender," as neither man nor woman.[15] Hijras have successfully gained this recognition in Bangladesh and are eligible for priority in education.[16] In India, the Supreme Court in April 2014 recognised hijra and transgender people as a 'third gender' in law.[17][18][19]
Nepal, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh have all legally recognized the existence of a third gender, including on passports and other official documents.
Terminology
The Urdu and Hindi word hijra may alternately be romanized as hijira, hijda, hijada, hijara, hijrah and is pronounced [ˈɦɪdʒɽaː]. This term is generally considered derogatory in Urdu and the word Khwaja Sara is used instead. Another such term is khasuaa (खसुआ) or khusaraa (खुसरा). In Bengali hijra is called হিজড়া, hijra, hijla, hijre, hizra, or hizre.
A number of terms across the culturally and linguistically diverse Indian subcontinent represent similar sex or gender categories. While these are rough synonyms, they may be better understood as separate identities due to regional cultural differences. In Odia, a hijra is referred to as hinjida, hinjda or napunsaka, in Telugu, as napunsakudu (నపుంసకుడు), kojja (కొజ్జ) or maada (మాడ), in Tamil Nadu, Thiru nangai (mister woman), Ali, aravanni, aravani, or aruvani, in Punjabi, khusra and jankha, in Sindhi khadra, in Gujarati, pavaiyaa (પાવૈયા).
In North India, the goddess Bahuchara Mata is worshipped by Pavaiyaa (પાવૈયા). In South India, the goddess Renuka is believed to have the power to change one's sex. Male devotees in female clothing are known as Jogappa. They perform similar roles to hijra, such as dancing and singing at birth ceremonies and weddings.[21]
The word kothi (or koti) is common across India, similar to the Kathoey of Thailand, although kothis are often distinguished from hijras. Kothis are regarded as feminine men or boys who take a feminine role in sex with men, but do not live in the kind of intentional communities that hijras usually live in. Additionally, not all kothis have undergone initiation rites or the body modification steps to become a hijra.[22] Local equivalents include durani (Kolkata), menaka (Cochin),[23] meti (Nepal), and zenana (Pakistan).
Hijra used to be translated in English as "eunuch" or "hermaphrodite,"[13] although LGBT historians or human rights activists have sought to include them as being transgender.[24] In a series of meetings convened between October 2013 and Jan 2014 by the transgender experts committee of India's Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, hijra and other trans activists asked that the term "eunuch" be discontinued from usage in government documents, as it is not a term with which the communities identify.
Gender and sexuality
These identities have no exact match in the modern Western taxonomy of gender and sexual orientation,[24] and challenge Western ideas of sex and gender.[11]
In India, some Hijras do not define themselves by specific sexual orientation, but rather by renouncing sexuality altogether. Sexual energy is transformed into sacred powers. However, these notions can come in conflict with the practical, which is that hijras are often employed as prostitutes.[25] Furthermore, in India a feminine male who takes a "receptive" role in sex with a man will often identify as a kothi (or the local equivalent term). While kothis are usually distinguished from hijras as a separate gender identity, they often dress as women and act in a feminine manner in public spaces, even using feminine language to refer to themselves and each other. The usual partners of hijras and kothis are men who consider themselves heterosexual as they are the ones who penetrate.[26] These male partners are often married, and any relationships or sex with "kothis" or hijras are usually kept secret from the community at large. Some hijras may form relationships with men and even marry,[27] although their marriage is not usually recognized by law or religion. Hijras and kothis often have a name for these masculine sexual or romantic partners; for example, panthi in Bangladesh, giriya in Delhi or sridhar in Cochin.[23]
Social status and economic circumstances
Most hijras live at the margins of society with very low status; the very word "hijra" is sometimes used in a derogatory manner. The Indian lawyer and author Rajesh Talwar has written a book highlighting the human rights abuses suffered by the community titled 'The Third Sex and Human Rights.'[28] Few employment opportunities are available to hijras. Many get their income from extortion (forced payment by disrupting work/life using demonstrations and interference), performing at ceremonies (toli), begging (dheengna), or sex work ('raarha')—an occupation of eunuchs also recorded in premodern times. Violence against hijras, especially hijra sex workers, is often brutal, and occurs in public spaces, police stations, prisons, and their homes.[29] As with transgender people in most of the world, they face extreme discrimination in health, housing, education, employment, immigration, law, and any bureaucracy that is unable to place them into male or female gender categories.[30]
In 2008, HIV prevalence was 27.6% amongst hijra sex workers in Larkana.[6] The general prevalence of HIV among the adult Pakistani population is estimated at 0.1%.[31]
In October 2013, Pakistani Christians and Muslims (Shia and Sunni) put pressure on the landlords of Imamia Colony to evict any transgender residents. "Generally in Pakistan, Khwaja Sira are not under threat. But they are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province because of a 'new Islam' under way", I.A. Rehman, the director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.[32]
In a study of Bangladeshi hijras, participants reported not being allowed to seek healthcare at the private chambers of doctors, and experiencing abuse if they go to government hospitals.[33]
Beginning in 2006, hijras were engaged to accompany Patna city revenue officials to collect unpaid taxes, receiving a 4-percent commission.[34]
Since India's Supreme Court re-criminalized homosexual sex on 13 December 2013, there has been a sharp increase in the physical, psychological and sexual violence against the transgender community by the Indian Police Service, nor are they investigating even when sexual assault against them is reported.[35]
On 15 April 2014, in National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India ruled that transgender people should be treated as a third category of gender or as a socially and economically "backward" class entitled to proportional access and representation in education and jobs.[36]
Language
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The hijra community due to its peculiar place in sub-continental society which entailed marginalisation yet royal privileges developed a secret language known as Hijra Farsi. The language has a sentence structure loosely based on Urdu and a unique vocabulary of at least a thousand words. Beyond the Urdu-Hindi speaking areas of subcontinent the vocabulary is still used by the hijra community within their own native languages.
In South Asian politics
In 2013, transgender people in Pakistan were given their first opportunity to stand for election.[37] Sanam Fakir, a 32-year-old hijra, ran as an independent candidate for Sukkur, Pakistan's general election in May.[38]
The governments of both India (1994)[39] and Pakistan (2009)[40] have recognized hijras as a "third sex", thus granting them the basic civil rights of every citizen. In India, hijras now have the option to identify as a eunuch ("E") on passports and on certain government documents. They are not, however, fully accommodated; in order to vote, for example, citizens must identify as either male or female. There is also further discrimination from the government. In the 2009 general election, India's election committee denied three hijras candidature unless they identified themselves as either male or female.
In April 2014, Justice KS Radhakrishnan declared transgender to be the third gender in Indian law, in a case brought by the National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa) against Union of India and others.[17][18][19] The ruling said:[41]
Seldom, our society realises or cares to realise the trauma, agony and pain which the members of Transgender community undergo, nor appreciates the innate feelings of the members of the Transgender community, especially of those whose mind and body disown their biological sex. Our society often ridicules and abuses the Transgender community and in public places like railway stations, bus stands, schools, workplaces, malls, theatres, hospitals, they are sidelined and treated as untouchables, forgetting the fact that the moral failure lies in the society's unwillingness to contain or embrace different gender identities and expressions, a mindset which we have to change.
Justice Radhakrishnan said that transgender people should be treated consistently with other minorities under the law, enabling them to access jobs, healthcare and education.[42] He framed the issue as one of human rights, saying that, "These TGs, even though insignificant in numbers, are still human beings and therefore they have every right to enjoy their human rights", concluding by declaring that:[41]
Hijras, Eunuchs, apart from binary gender, be treated as "third gender" for the purpose of safeguarding their rights under Part III of our Constitution and the laws made by the Parliament and the State Legislature.
Transgender persons' right to decide their self-identified gender is also upheld and the Centre and State Governments are directed to grant legal recognition of their gender identity such as male, female or as third gender.
A bill supported by all political parties was tabled in Indian parliament to ensure transgender people get benefits akin reserved communities like SC/STs and is taking steps to see that they get enrollment in schools and jobs in government besides protection from sexual harassment.[43]
History
The ancient Kama Sutra mentions the performance of fellatio by feminine people of a third sex (tritiya prakriti).[44] This passage has been variously interpreted as referring to men who desired other men, so-called eunuchs ("those disguised as males, and those that are disguised as females"[45]), male and female trans people ("the male takes on the appearance of a female and the female takes on the appearance of the male"),[46] or two kinds of biological males, one dressed as a woman, the other as a man.[47]
During the era of the British Raj, authorities attempted to eradicate hijras, whom they saw as "a breach of public decency."[48] Anti-hijra laws were repealed; but a law outlawing castration, a central part of the hijra community, was left intact, though rarely enforced. Also during British rule in India they were placed under the Criminal Tribes Act 1871 and labelled a "criminal tribe," hence subjected to compulsory registration, strict monitoring and stigmatized for a long time; after independence however they were denotified in 1952, though the centuries-old stigma continues.[49]
In religion
The Indian transgender hijras or Aravanis ritually marry the Hindu god Aravan and then mourn his ritual death (seen) in an 18-day festival in Koovagam, India.
Many practice a form of syncretism that draws on multiple religions; seeing themselves to be neither men nor women, hijras practice rituals for both men and women.
Hijras belong to a special caste. They are usually devotees of the mother goddess Bahuchara Mata, Lord Shiva, or both.
Hijras and Bahuchara Mata
Bahuchara Mata is a Hindu goddess with two unrelated stories both associated with transgender behavior. One story is that she appeared in the avatar of a princess who castrated her husband because he would run in the woods and act like a woman rather than have sex with her. Another story is that a man tried to rape her, so she cursed him with impotence. When the man begged her forgiveness to have the curse removed, she relented only after he agreed to run in the woods and act like a woman. The primary temple to this goddess is located in Gujarat[50] and it is a place of pilgrimage for hijras, who see Bahucahara Mata as a patroness.
Hijras and Lord Shiva
One of the forms of Lord Shiva is a merging with Parvati where together they are Ardhanari, a god that is half Shiva and Half Parvati. Ardhanari has special significance as a patron of hijras, who identify with the gender ambiguity.[50]
Hijras in the Ramayana
In some versions of the Ramayana,[51] when Rama leaves Ayodhya for his 14-year exile, a crowd of his subjects follow him into the forest because of their devotion to him. Soon Rama notices this, and gathers them to tell them not to mourn, and that all the "men and women" of his kingdom should return to their places in Ayodhya. Rama then leaves and has adventures for 14 years. When he returns to Ayodhya, he finds that the hijras, being neither men nor women, have not moved from the place where he gave his speech. Impressed with their devotion, Rama grants hijras the boon to confer blessings on people during auspicious inaugural occasions like childbirth and weddings. This boon is the origin of badhai in which hijras sing, dance, and give blessings.[
Hijras in the Mahabharata
Mahabharata includes an episode in which Arjun, a hero of the epic, is sent into an exile. There he assumes an identity of a eunuch-transvestite and performs rituals during weddings and childbirths that are now performed by hijras.[53]
In the Mahabharata, before the Kurukshetra War, Iravan offers his lifeblood to goddess Kali to ensure the victory of the Pandavas, and Kali agrees to grant him power. On the night before the battle, Iravan expresses a desire to get married before he dies. No woman was willing to marry a man doomed to die in a few hours, so Arjuna as Brihinala marries him. In South India, hijras claim Iravan as their progenitor and call themselves "aravanis."[52]
"Sangam literature use ' word 'Pedi' to refer to people born with Intersex condition, it also refers to antharlinga hijras and various Hijra, The Aravan cult in Koovagam village of Tamil Nadu is a folk tradition of the transwomen, where the members enact the legend during an annual three-day festival. "This is completely different from the sakibeki cult of West Bengal, where transwomen don't have to undergo sex change surgery or shave off their facial hair. They dress as women still retaining their masculine features and sing in praise of Lord Krishna,". "Whereas, since the Tamil society is more conservative and hetero-normative, transwomen completely change themselves as women. In the ancient times, even religion has its own way of accepting these fringe communities." The Bachura Devi worship in Gujarat and Jogappa cult of Karanataka are the other examples.the kinds of dialects and languages spoken by these community in different parts of the country and the socio-cultural impact on the lingo. 'Hijra Farsi' is the transgender dialect, a mix of Urdu, Hindi and Persian spoken in the northern belt of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan and 'Kothi Baashai' is spoken by the transgender community in Karnataka, Andhra, Orissa and parts of Tamil Nadu. "They even have sign languages and typical mannerisms to communicate. The peculiar clap is one such"
—Gopi Shankar Madurai, National Queer Conference 2013[54][55]
Each year in Tamil Nadu, during April and May, hijras celebrate an eighteen-day religious festival. The aravani temple is located in the village Koovagam in the Ulundurpet taluk in Villupuram district, and is devoted to the deity Koothandavar, who is identified with Aravan. During the festival, the aravanis reenact a story of the wedding of Lord Krishna and Lord Aravan, followed by Aravan's subsequent sacrifice. They then mourn Aravan's death through ritualistic dances and by breaking their bangles. An annual beauty pageant is also held, as well as various health and HIV or AIDS seminars. Hijras from all over the country travel to this festival. A personal experience of the hijras in this festival is shown in the BBC Three documentary India's Ladyboys and also in the National Geographic Channel television series Taboo.
Hijras in Islam
There is evidence that Indian hijras identifying as Muslim also incorporate aspects of Hinduism. Still, despite this syncretism, Reddy (2005) notes that a hijra does not practice Islam differently from other Muslims and argues that their syncretism does not make them any less Muslim. Reddy (2003) also documents an example of how this syncretism manifests: in Hyderabad, India a group of Muslim converts were circumcised, something seen as the quintessential marker of male Muslim identity.[clarification needed]
In films and literature
Bangladesh
The film Common Gender (2012) relates the story of the Bangladesh hijra and their struggle for survival.
India
Hijras have been portrayed on screen in Indian cinema since its inception, historically as comic relief. A notable turning point occurred in 1974 when real hijras appeared during a song-and-dance sequence in Kunwaara Baap ("The Unmarried Father"). There are also hijras in the Hindi movie Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) who accompany one of the heroes, Akbar (Rishi Kapoor), in a song entitled "Tayyab Ali Pyar Ka Dushman" ("Tayyab Ali, the Enemy of Love"). One of the first sympathetic hijra portrayals was in Mani Ratnam's Bombay (1995). 1997's Tamanna[56] starred male actor Paresh Rawal in a central role as "Tiku", a hijra who raises a young orphan. Pooja Bhatt produced and also starred in the movie, with her father Mahesh Bhatt co-writing and directing. Deepa Mehta's Water features the hijra character "Gulabi" (played by Raghubir Yadav), who has taken to introducing the downtrodden, outcast widows of Varanasi to prostitution. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the film generated much controversy. There is a brief appearance of hijras in the 2004 Gurinder Chadha film Bride & Prejudice, singing to a bride-to-be in the marketplace. There's also a loose reference, in the guise of "Rocky" ("Rokini") in Deepha Mehta's Bollywood/Hollywood.
The 1997 Hindi film Darmiyaan: In Between directed & co-written by Kalpana Lajmi is based on the subject of Hijra, wherein a fictitious story of an actress bearing a son that turns out to be neuter.
In the 2000 Tamil film Appu directed by Vasanth, a remake of the Hindi film Sadak, the antagonist is a brothel-owning hijra played by Prakash Raj. (In Sadak, the brothel-owning character was played by Sadashiv Amrapurkar under the name "Maharani".)
In 2005, a fiction feature film titled Shabnam Mausi was made on the life of a eunuch politician Shabnam Mausi. It was directed by Yogesh Bharadwaj and the title role played by Ashutosh Rana.
Jogwa, a 2009 Marathi film, depicts the story of a man forced to be hijra under certain circumstances. The movie has received several accolades.[57]
In Soorma Bhopali, Jagdeep encounters a troupe of hijra on his arrival in Bombay. The leader of this pack is also played by Jagdeep himself.
In Anil Kapoor's Nayak, Johnny Lever, who plays the role of the hero's assistant, gets beaten up by hijras, when he is caught calling them "hijra" (he is in habit of calling almost everyone who bothers him by this pejorative and no one cares much, except this once ironically, as the addressees are literally what he is calling them.)
One of the main characters in Khushwant Singh's novel Delhi, Bhagmati is a hijra. She makes a living as a semi-prostitute and is wanted in the diplomatic circles of the city.
Vijay TV's Ippadikku Rose, a Tamil show conducted by postgraduate educated transgender woman Rose is a very successfully running program that discusses various issues faced by youth in Tamil Nadu, where she also gives her own experiences.
In addition to numerous other themes, the 2008 movie Welcome to Sajjanpur by Shyam Benegal explores the role of hijras in Indian society.
In the Malayalam movie Ardhanaari, released on 23 November 2012, director Santhosh Sowparnika tries to depict the life of a transgender person. Manoj K Jayan, Thilakan, Sukumari and Maniyanpilla Raju perform leading roles.
In August, 2015, a music video featuring 7 hijras dressed in outfits or uniforms of various professions and singing the National Anthem of India created by a YouTube channel Yathartha Pictures went viral for being the first National Anthem video sung by hijras in India.[58][59] The hijras featured in the video were brought together by the Humsafar Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO which promotes LGBT rights.[60][61]
Tamil
Vaadamalli by novelist Su.Samuthiram is the first Tamil novel about Aravaani community in Tamil Nadu, published in 1994. Later transgender activist A. Revathi became first Hijra to write about transgender issues and gender politics in Tamil, her works have been translated in more than 8 languages and acting as a primary resources on Gender Studies in Asia. Her book is part of research project for more than 100 universities. She is the author of Unarvum Uruvamum (Feelings of the Entire Body); is the first of its kind in English from a member of the hijra community.[62][63][64] She also acted,directed several stage plays on Gender and Sexuality issues in Tamil and Kannada."The Truth about Me: A Hijra Life Story" by Transgender A.Revathi[65] is part of the syllabus for Final Year students of The American College in Madurai. Later Naan Saravanan Alla" (2007) and Vidya's "I am Vidya" (2008) became first transwoman autobiography.[66][67]
Pakistan
The 1992 film Immaculate Conception[68] by Jamil Dehlavi is based upon the culture-clash between a western Jewish couple seeking fertility at a Karachi shrine known to be blessed by a Sufi fakir called 'Gulab Shah' and the group of Pakistani eunuchs who guard it.
Murad (which means desire; the English title was Eunuch's Motherhood), was an award winning biographical Telefilm drama made by Evergreen Media Europe for Pakistan's television channel Indus TV that aired in 2003. The cast had the country's top male television actors playing "hijras": Sohail Asghar, Nabeel, Qazi Wajid, Kamran Jilani. It was directed by Kamran Qureshi, written by Zafar Mairaj and produced by Iram Qureshi. It won both Best TeleFilm and Best Director awards at 2003 Indus Telefilm Festival.[69][70] The story revolves around "Saima", a trans woman, who adopts a helpless child "Murad" and her relationship with him against the backdrop of her struggling throughout her life and her "desire" for her son. She has sent him away to live at a hostel so she can earn a living as a dancer, after her son gets cross with her, due to teasing (verbal and sexual) they face while dancing. This was the first time that influential male actors came out to support "hijra" rights during interviews; noting that in Pakistani English at that time eunuch was the term to describe a transgender person, and "khwaja sara" (also khwaja sira) had not yet replaced what is now considered a derogatory term due to decades of heckling and name calling, "hijra".[71][72]
In 2004, Kamran Qureshi directed a trans drama, Moorat ("effigy," however, the English title was Eunuch's Wedding. It was produced by famous actor and producer Humayun Saeed and Abdullah Kadwani with more than a dozen star-studded cast members for a 33-episode series.[73][74] It was nominated for Best Drama Serial, Abid Ali for Best Actor, and Maria Wasti for Best Actress at the Lux Style Awards 2005.[69][75] The show was credited for making people understand the pain and abuse that khwaja sara (hijra) constantly endure when people make fun of the way they look or dress without knowing them or how they were naturally born this way. The story involves a young lady who is arranged to marry. It turns out her husband is transgender. The story unfolds trans community and their deprived and isolated world. It portrays eloquently how they, too, are not far away from the human emotions and feelings and their world not much different from the heterosexual community. Even though they are in plain sight, they are tthey are taboo subjects and are not taken seriously. This makes them suffer endlessly in silence wrapped in slurs. The 33-episode series therefore touches on transgender abuse, women abuse, poverty, immorality of arranged marriages, and child abuse.[76]
Bol (Urdu: بول meaning Speak), is a 2011 Urdu-language social drama Pakistani film. It concerns a patriarch, Hakim, who is a misogynist, a domestic abuser, a bigot, and a zealot who forces religion on his family. They face financial difficulties due to Hakim wanting a son. He rejects his transgender daughter, Saifi, as he wanted an heir and she identifies as a girl. Saifi is deeply loved by the rest of her family. As she grows up, men want to take advantage of her and she does not understand at first. However, her oldest sister intervenes and teaches Saifi about what kind of touching is inappropriate. As Saifi grows older, she is not allowed to leave the house. She finds her sister's dresses compelling and tries them on, revealing her gender identity. A neighbour played by famous South Asian singer Atif Aslam, who is in love with one of the sisters, gets Saifi a job at a place where they paint trucks, with the blessing of Saifi's sisters and mother. Saifi dresses like a boy; however, other boys sense her lack of self-esteem and eventually gang-rape her. She is saved when another transgender person, played by Almas Bobby (a transgender actor), finds her and takes her home. Hakim overhears Saifi telling her mother and Zainab what happened. When everybody is asleep, Hakim locks the room and suffocates his child for luring the men for the "shame" he would have to bear if the story got out.[77] It received several positive reviews from critics and went on to win the Best Hindi film award in IRDS Film awards 2011 by Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS).[78]
Outside South Asia
The novel Bombay Ice by Leslie Forbes features an important subplot involving the main character's investigation of the deaths of several hijra sex-workers.
The novel City of Djinns by William Dalrymple also features a chapter on hijras.
The novel A Son of the Circus by John Irving features a plot-line involving hijras.
In the graphic novel Habibi by Craig Thompson, the protagonist, Zam, is adopted by a group of hijras.
In the 2009 Brazilian soap opera Caminho das Índias (Portuguese: "The way to India"), hijras are shown in some occasions, especially at weddings and other ceremonies where they are paid for their blessing.
In the TV comedy Outsourced (2011), a hijra is hired by Charlie as a stripper for Rajiv's "bachelor party", much to Rajiv's utter horror.
A short film, under the direction of Jim Roberts, is being made by Rock Star Productions in which the protagonist is portrayed as a hijra. This film is set to be released on 1 May.[year needed][citation needed]
Kamran Ahmed Mirza is a popular gender performance artist in Oregon, United States.
Documentaries
Jareena, Portrait of a Hijda (1990)
Ladyboys (1992)
Bombay Eunuch (2001)
The Hijras: India's Third Gender (2001)
India's Ladyboys (2003)
Between the Lines: India's Third Gender (2005)
Middle Sexes (HBO documentary includes segment on modern Hijda) (2005)
Shabnam Mausi (2005)
The Hijras of India (BBC radio documentary)
Kiss the Moon (2009)
Call me Salma (2009)
Mohammed to Maya also titled Rites of Passage (2012)
The goa (Procapra picticaudata), also known as the Tibetan gazelle, is a species of antelope that inhabits the Tibetan plateau.
Goas are relatively small antelopes, with slender and graceful bodies. Both males and females stand 54 to 65 centimetres (21 to 26 in) tall at the shoulder, measure 91 to 105 cm (36 to 41 in) in head-body length and weigh 13 to 16 kg (29 to 35 lb). Males have long, tapering, ridged horns, reaching lengths of 26 to 32 cm (10 to 13 in). The horns are positioned close together on the forehead, and rise more or less vertically until they suddenly diverge towards the tips. Females have no horns, and neither sex has distinct facial markings.[2]
Goas are grayish brown over most of their bodies, with their summer coats being noticeably greyer in colour than their winter ones. They have short, black-tipped tails in the center of their heart-shaped white rump patches. Their fur lacks an undercoat, consisting of long guard hairs only, and is notably thicker in winter. They appear to have excellent senses, including keen eyesight and hearing.[2] Their thin and long legs enhance their running skill, which is required to escape from predators.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_(antelope)
Neither Buddhist nor Shinto, these Edo era monuments can be found along city streets and country lanes. Adherents of the ancient Koshin creed believed that a worm inhabited their bodies--a worm which would venture out on certain nights of the year to tattletale on their sins to a wrathful top deity. To prevent this happening, they would stay up all night and party, so that the worm could not leave!
The latest thrust of Project Fear™ (© TheEstablishment. LOLZ) is that a hard Brexit (or a total UK departure from the EU in other words) would lead to shortages of lettuce and tomatoes... (from Spain), according to the BBC.
So it appears that not only will we all succomb to scurvy overnight but the Spanish salad ingredient producers will lose 60+ million customers in an instant. Of course, Spain is already suffering from its membership of the EU, with the inability to set its own currency value, thereby unable to make its tourism industry more competitive. Just ask Spanish people under 25 what they think of the current state of the Spanish economy.
Of course what the EU functionaries are not daring to say is that UK consumers may seek alternatives such as New World wines, fresh produce from Africa, etc.
Just to be clear, me encantan Los Espanoles, Espana y la gente de Europa en general. Disculpame la ausencia de accentos.
On a lighter note, rumours that the people of Scotland care neither one way nor the other about impending salad scarcity remain unconfirmed at time of writing.
Waitrose customers: do not worry, you heirloom tomato varietals will still be delivered by flying unicorn.
Hello there. Relevant comments welcome but please do NOT post any link(s). All my images are my own original work, under my copyright, with all rights reserved. You need my permission to use any image for ANY purpose.
Copyright infringement is theft.
This was on a roll of FP4+ B&W Film shot on a Balda Baldera 35mm camera. It is not a photographic image and is not even 35mm format. I have no idea what happened; do you?
Neither the heavy clouds that day managed to overshadow the evening light.
#sunset #sea #colours #silhouettes #shadows
If you want to buy this image, please contact me on artenucci@hotmail.com
All rights reserved.
~Francois de La Rochefoucauld
But then Francois missed seeing SUN on a misty morning and thats how it looked early morning from the camp site :) so beautiful and un-hurtful.
Have u guys seen such a sun its real beauty I tell you .. hmm now left is to face the death hmmm :P thats gonna be tricky :D
Canon 200mm f/2.8L USM + Canon 1.4x Extender,1/4000s f/9.0 ISO100 280mm
"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added unto you." Luke 12:27-30
It's a pretty basic concept that we should trust in God to provide our needs, and yet I am one that fails in this area regularly! He's never let me down and yet I still panic inside when my business slows down and the bills pile up. It's good for me to stop and consider the lilies.
During stressful times I find myself dreaming of the ocean. There are few things as wonderful as simply walking along the beach at sunset. The Calla Lilies in this photo meander along a small creek that leads to the sea. If you look closely you can just barely see the waves at the end of the valley. After shooting the lilies the sun sank into the horizon and the light faded. I put my camera and tripod on my shoulder and walked out along the beach. The seagulls circled around calling out the way seagulls do. I stood there listening to the sounds and watching the waves. Suddenly a big swell rolled up the beach and before I knew it I was knee deep in ocean! I figured since I was all wet I may as well take a few long exposures before it was totally dark. It was fun but none of the images were worth keeping. It didn't matter. I had the lilies I came for and I was happy.
There's something that intrigues me about the lilies in this photo. Nearly everyone has the same response when I show them this photo. "Wow! Those don't even look real!!" Well all of these flowers were very real. I searched through each and every one for over an hour before planting my tripod in this spot. The lilies were so fresh and perfect on that day. But it's been a few weeks since then. All of the perfect flowers in this image are now more like dried raisins. It's kind of a weird thought isn't it? I've often felt that photography is like putting time in a bottle.
Thanks for stopping by.
Saturdays often start slowly in our house. Neither of us are early risers and when we do eventually crawl out of bed, a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee can effortlessly take up the next three hours. By which time it's almost lunch. After that, on gloomier days during the endless winter months in the UK, the darkness may already be marching back towards us. So sometimes at weekends nothing much happens until Sunday, if at all. This probably explains my limited output at the time of the year when Cornwall is at its most dramatic and photogenic and my indolence is brought into sharp focus as you post your fine work in these pages.
But last Saturday things were different. Well slightly different. I was even on location only 20 minutes after I'd planned to be, partly because the low tide meant a longer escapade over the rocks on the beach to reach my vantage point. The day, and possibly the rest of my life was almost marred when I encountered a slippery patch next to a narrow and deep crevice where I might not have been found for quite some time afterwards. I escaped with a furious collection of butterflies flapping around in my stomach. Close one though.
The sea was doing beautiful things in between my perch and the lighthouse, and the breakers were hitting the rocks in the centre ground with an easy rhythm. I was trying to catch the seawater spilling away from the rocks, using a 2 second exposure time in order to record the motion without losing definition. I took about 40 exposures, choosing this one because I liked the drag back effect of the sea in the foreground on the right hand side.
Meanwhile, on the cliffs above me I witnessed a procession of ever more weary yet bold adventurers, set on a course for Porthtowan, 11 miles further along the coast. 11 miles of coastal path running, with big climbs and knee jolting descents in between. I know that's tough because I've run that sort of distance along our coastal path before and it hurts. But what I've never done is the 89 miles they'd already run, walked, trudged and crawled to get to where I was standing. They'd started more than 24 hours earlier on the east side of Lizard point. If you want to have a crack at it yourself, the Arc of Attrition takes place every year. As I returned to the car I cheered each one of them on as they passed. Some thanked me, some nodded, others ignored me completely. None of them swore at me so I think the encouragement was generally received in good faith. Don't think I'll be joining them any time soon though.
Neither the sea nor the rocks, he belonged to.
Yet, he found peace among them.
Love, anger, jealousy, fear and everything else in this short life reminded him of eternity.
He waited for it peacefully.
(Always fascinated by Sufism and mysticism, it overwhelms me sometimes)
THERE ARE WRITINGS THAT NEITHER GOD UNDERSTANDS.
BARDA DE LA IGLESIA EN EL BARRIO DE SAN MATEO TEPOPULA, TENANGO DEL AIRE, ESTADO DE MÉXICO
As it often happens with me when I am out with my camera, people approach and we strike a conversation. While taking pics of this birdhouse the other day, I got to talk to another hiker who told me that actually mice leaves in these birdhouses and he had never seen any birds in it, sadly, neither did I actually.
NikonD7500
Helios 44-2
f/2
1/1000
ISO100
Neither love nor fire can persist without perpetual motion;
both cease to live so soon as they cease to hope, or to fear.
(François de la Rochefoucauld)
PSP**** Prise SurPrise!! - Panorama Format
Weekly Themes - Photography Techniques: long exposure
Challenge on flickr - Movement/Bookmark
(photo by Freya)
I’d have loved to go further north. Kyle of Tongue, Durness, Cape Wrath and the impossibly remote Sandwood Bay Beach were all places that had captured the imagination in spadefuls, but there just wasn’t quite enough time this time. We really weren’t that far away, but Ali wanted to walk across Rannoch Moor, and we had more friends to catch up with at Loch Lomond over the weekend. By Monday we needed to be heading south again - you can only rely on the kindness of the next door neighbour to look after the cat for so many days at a time. And as Inverness marked the end of our adventures along the Great Glen Way, I’d found a campsite a couple of miles out of the city that sat at the edge of the Beauly Firth. From here we could spend the last couple of evenings with our hiking buddies, restocking on calories and exploring the as yet unproven restorative properties of real ale. After our friends from North Carolina had arrived at the finishing line with 79 miles of walking from Fort William in their boots, I told them they’d need to march onwards for another seven minutes to reach the local Wetherspoons. There we explained that you can buy a meal deal that comes with beer - they seemed to approve. And as we’d accompanied them for some substantial sections, including the last six miles today (we’d had to walk another six miles towards them first), it seemed rude not to join the foodfest. They even ordered desserts, although heaven knows where they put them. Neither of them carries even a pound of unnecessary flesh.
It was an early night though. Alder and Anna were tired after six days of long distance hiking and we had a bus to catch back to the campsite. So at half past eight, appetites replenished, Ali and I climbed aboard the number twenty-eight to Dingwall with aching joints. But there would be no walking tomorrow. No driving long distances either. A rest day at last, mooching around the capital of the Highlands, and for Ali and I, back to the Wetherspoons for a lunchtime meal deal. I mean where else can you get fish and chips and a very agreeable pint of IPA for under a tenner these days?
Back at the campsite under the white nights of the far north, there was still little sign of summer. Earlier in the riverside parklands of the city, the rain had poured heavily, testing our waterproofs. The heavens had opened again as we’d walked up onto high ground along the trail towards our friends. They’d been out in this the whole day on an epic twenty mile final leg along the slopes and through forests from Drumnadrochit. When we eventually met them, Anna was grinning from beneath a clear plastic poncho over the top of everything else she was wearing, including her rucksack. But late in the evening it was at least dry, and I struggled down to the small beach beside the campsite, wielding camera and tripod as I went. Just to see what views we had from our home beside the Beauly Firth. To the west lay distant mountains, too far away and lost in clouded haze to reel in with the long lens. To the east lay the Kessock Bridge, gateway to the Black Isle and that not so distant northern wilderness. Still so tantalising. It was a lovely spot, but not one where the words “landscape photography” immediately jumped from the page and lit up in front of me. But the blue textures in both the sky and water, together with that northern gateway over on the horizon suggested something might be possible - as long as I imagined the finished image in a letterbox crop.
“Can you take the rest of our granola bars and our whisky?” came the message over the Whatsapp channel. Isn’t it great when your friends have to get on a plane and need to lose a few sandbags before it can take off? Even better when you're driving a Tardis on wheels. “Erm, yes I think I can manage that,” I replied. Free whisky! On the last day, I followed them around town while a teetotal Ali investigated the local charity shops. She’ll never find any that match the ones on her home stomping ground. She knows them inside out, you know; does them twice a day sometimes. Still, I did get a very nice Finisterre coat for a pound out of one of her more recent escapades - a photo came through as Dave, Lee and I were staring at Perch Rock Lighthouse on the Wirral. But today, Anna wanted to seek out her family tartan - as you do - and Alder had found a print shop to visit, after which we repaired to the Black Isle Bar because the alcohol supply in the bloodstream was starting to run low and they boasted a range of ales that needed to be sampled.
And just for once, I wasn’t driving anywhere - neither north nor in any other direction. With all this conviviality at hand, maybe it’s little wonder we didn’t make it any further towards the top and beyond the Beauly Firth over Kessock Bridge.
“Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd.”
― Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays
Giresun, Kumbet Plateau JULY, 2020
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LEE 0.9 Graduated Neutral Density Filter( HARD)
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EF 16-35MMF/2.8L II USM
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Canon 5d mark III
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Do not use my works without my written permission!!!
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www.shutterstock.com/tr/g/f9project
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Neither of these Wood Ducks is completely in focus, but it was about the best thing I saw today. Regardless, I really enjoyed todays hike as I was in a better mood for a change. Roselawn Cemetery, Ramsey County, MN 03/22/25
An undercurrent of real friendship is a blessing exactly because its elemental form is rediscovered again and again through understanding and mercy.
The ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor of the self, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.
⁜ David Whyte in the book - Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words
*.°. ❤.°.* क्यों नये लग रहें है ये धरती गगन º ° ˚ • ° º ˚ º ° • ˚ ° º .˚ . ♪
"Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness..."
~Richard Bach
Neither Alec Guiness nor William Holden were around either of these bridges (ok, who knows what I am referencing). The Oak Creek Bridge was photographed from SR 87A a few miles north of Sedona. The steel truss bridge over the Verde River was taken on our train trip.
Neither stag seems to have the advantage in this sparring session by a couple of the nondominant European red deer who are practicing for a later date when they may fight for breeding privileges. Its surprising they don't lose an eye during these bouts. In the background the tree branch shadows look like they are sparring too. Glenrose, Texas, USA, February 2015
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neither summer nor winter.
neither black nor white.
neither girl nor woman.
somewhere in between.
this week was pretty good, even though I had a history exam and a vocabulary test. and a headache sometimes. but I was in a good mood. not too stressed. and nevertheless there’s always been this bittersweet feeling of time passing so fast.
every second
every minute
every hour
every day
every week
every month
every year
gone by. too fast.
[november 23 – 29, 2009]
NB: Not captive.
Halfway up my stairwell I crossed paths with this charming jumping spider, a species within genus Pungalina I believe.
Exactly on the middle step. Neither up nor down.
After our encounter, it was taken outside to the garden.
Around 6 mm body length.
© All rights reserved.
„Neither shy nor anxious, but proud and sublime, she models on the wayside - 'Lady Duck' - the Grande Dame among the ducks..."
„Weder scheu noch ängstlich, sondern stolz und erhaben modelt sie da am Wegesrand - ‚Lady Duck‘ - die Grande Dame unter den Enten…“
My personal challenge for 2022 - I'll try - and do my very best...
Meine persönliche Herausforderung für 2022 - ich werd's versuchen - und mein Bestes geben…