Meet Pooja Sharma: The Rekha Of Mumbai Local

Brut India

Every day, she dresses gracefully, boards Mumbai local trains and brightens people's journeys with her laughter and her dance moves. Here's the story of Pooja Sharma, a trans woman who is also a social media star.  Thanks to crossbyteproductions for the footage.

Transcript

00:00Look how much they love me.

00:04What should I ask from all of them?

00:08Please, fill my room with all of them.

00:31How many ladies do you think I can ask for?

00:37All of them.

00:41Good, I said all of them.

00:45I don't have to ask anyone.

00:49I can ask anyone I want.

00:53I am not a person who is not asked for anything.

00:56But when I climb in such a crowd, people look at me like this, but don't think that I have

01:14come to beg.

01:15Everyone comes and stands around me.

01:16It's so crowded.

01:17Then from there, everyone comes close to me and stands to see me.

01:18Whenever I start begging, people look at me so lovingly, they laugh so much, I ask for

01:25one rupee.

01:26The whole train goes to Bombay, the whole train goes to Bombay, I ask for one rupee.

01:32The one rupee line has come.

01:34Now I don't need to ask for money.

01:37Everyone tells me that you have come to beg, you have come to beg, you have come to beg,

01:44I don't need money.

01:45Everyone tells me that the way you wear a saree, you look like Rekha.

01:52Your dress, your jewelry, everything looks like Rekha.

01:57When did you find out that you are a beggar and how did you accept that?

02:04I don't go to play with my friends.

02:07Because I used to go to play with all the ladies in the area.

02:12But I really liked it.

02:14I used to win in every game.

02:16I used to win in all the games played by the ladies.

02:20People also loved me when I was young.

02:24But even then I didn't know that I was a little different.

02:30I am a boy, but why don't I go with my boyfriend's friend?

02:36So why am I going with the ladies?

02:38When I was a kid, my uncle used to scold me.

02:44But I didn't understand anything.

02:46Because I go there only.

02:48There is a Pooja in my area.

02:51There is a Pooja in our village.

02:53Then there is a dance competition.

02:56So I used to dance like this in the area, in the Pooja.

03:00I used to dance like this.

03:02All the boys used to give their names.

03:06They used to dance like this.

03:08What did I do?

03:10I wore my sister's saree and went to dance.

03:16Everyone started laughing.

03:20Then there is a Thakur Dada in my area.

03:25I am starting to understand a little bit.

03:29I am understanding a little bit.

03:31Then my uncle Thakur Dada came to my house.

03:36Then my uncle, my mother, my father, my uncle, my mother's brother.

03:44Everyone was talking to me.

03:46Because my father is a priest there too.

03:49We have a lot of names.

03:51Everyone came.

03:53Everyone started talking.

03:55Look, I think your son is different.

03:58But at that time I didn't have anything like this in my mind.

04:02Your son seems to be different.

04:05Put him to work.

04:10Put him to work.

04:12Then they left me to work.

04:16Because I know that my parents were influenced by the people of the area.

04:21They taught me something.

04:23When they said this, then I understood a little bit.

04:27What is actually happening.

04:29When my parents left, the priest left.

04:34Even then I saw my parents crying at night.

04:39They didn't say anything to me.

04:42I was very sad about this.

04:45What am I? I am not a human being.

04:49Because whatever I am doing, I am not doing it on purpose.

04:54I am doing it on purpose.

04:58Whenever I go to the market, my mother tells me to bring something from the shop.

05:06At that time, big people, big people loved me a lot.

05:20Did you understand what I wanted to say?

05:24Big people loved me a lot.

05:27Big people.

05:29I don't know. But I used to like it.

05:37Someone used to give me chocolate.

05:42Ice cream is very expensive there.

05:47They used to give me good expensive things.

05:52What I am now.

05:58If I had known that before, I would have never let what happened to me happen.

06:07What I understand now.

06:10If I had known this before, I would have never let what happened to me happen.

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