B. Arch. Thesis is an opportunity to explore uncharted territories in architectural design as an academic exercise by selecting a topic on your own. In professional practice such opportunities are rare.

Theme based topics provide the scope for research before design and contributing to design in a social context. Hijra Utthan Kendra was one such thesis work undertaken by Ms. Ranjita Bardhan as an architecture student in 1998.

The highpoint of Ms. Bardhan’s work was the heartfelt acknowledgement by the Hijra community with whom she interacted, of the fact that an architect found their way of life interesting enough to be made part of the domain of design.

INTRODUCTION

In the society of men and women there exists one more sex which is the third sex called Hijras, in India. In India, they are identified as people peculiarly dressed in saree but look like male, clapping and moving from one place to another in a peculiar way. They are always seen begging either on street or in the shops or in the trains etc. Earlier they had a very bright and glowing life but now their life is becoming pathetic and harder day by day. Earlier earning money by begging was very simple because of superstitious nature of man but now because of the pace of life and also the extent of education they do not get enough money even to feed themselves which has given rise to extortion and criminal behaviour. 

Hijras today, when seen on roads or nearby is scaring to people as they are very unpopular for their intimidation. Today they live in small bastis or chawls with the main stream of society. In spite of living their own life without interfering into others matters they are disdained by the people. People are still unaware of the fact that they are also normal human beings with some deformities but can work, act, feel and sense as others do, only they need is opportunity and scope. 

All over the world the hermaphrodites are born, eunuchs are formed but there is no such community existing anywhere, why? That is because they are given same opportunity as that of others. 

So this is a proposal which caters to the need of this community in India. It is not just a habilitation centre or just a colony of hijras constructed somewhere in the corner which is totally cut off from the rest of the world. It is an attempt to re-establish the hijras so that they can live happily and peacefully. They will be provided with different types of work which will allow them to earn with dignity and will bring people close to them. If the hijras has to be properly and perfectly established in the society, there has to be a key of contact between them and the main stream because most of the people are scared of the hijras, which prevents them from knowing them properly or end up knowing nothing but the myths about them. Their work area will serve as one key of bringing both of them together at the same place.

HIERARCHY IN HIJRA COMMUNITY 

In any organised group, there is bound to be a certain amount of stratification and hierarchy, so also amongst the hijras. In Bombay there are in all seven heads whom they address as nayaks or chiefs. These nayaks controls the whole organisation and it consists of all the hijras who are in the city of Bombay. Seven nayaks have different names and at the end of the name they join nayak which means leader. 

Each nayak has a Khandan or dynasty and each dynasty is formed   in a particular   way; the nayak   has   main chelas (disciples) called gurus and these gurus have  their chela and their chelas have their chela and so on... 

In the hierarchical structure apart from the nayak being the head more close and direct relationship is that between guru and the chela. Nearly every hijra is a chela of hijra and guru of another hijra. Guru is that person who was hospitable to the strange hijra who had come to the town and did not know anything, had no shelter, no work. The first hijra who took him under his wing became his guru and that hijra became the chela. The guru looks after him, feeds him, gives him clothes and teaches him the trade and makes him familiar with the place. The chelas in turn cooks for him and does other household chores. After the new hijra learns the trade from the guru he goes to out and earns independently and comes and gives the money to the guru. The chela at the later stage can break away from the guru and take another profession or take another hijra in the wing. Thus the chela becomes the guru to somebody else. It goes on this way and the head guru becomes the nayak and the khandan is formed. 

If the guru has more than one chela then the chelas becomes brothers and sisters. The guru is like their mother and the guru's guru becomes the grandmother. It is like a big family and they consider themselves a family. These nayaks sometimes fleece the chelas. By being hospitable for sometime they ensure life long obligation and expect the return. Even if the chela stays elsewhere, they are forced to pay a certain amount, possibly as a fee for the dholak that the guru gives them as a medium of earning money. 

The nayaks stay in complete harmony with one another and there is utmost co-operation between them. There is no rivalry amongst the nayaks. If a nayak wants anybody into his khandan because he is a good dancer hence an asset he has to pay a certain amount of compensation to the nayak of former khandan. 

GHARANAS

Bhindi Bazaarwalla Gharana, Delhiwalla Gharana, Hyder Ibrahimwalla Gharana, Lucknowwalla Gharana, Poonawalla Gharana, Lallanwalla Gharana, Bulackwalla Gharana

HABITAT 

Hijras live in crowded localities in different parts of the city, usually in the areas where lower income groups resides. They often stay segregated from the general public and a large number of hijras sometimes form their community in a particular locality. Most commonly, basti areas or by-lanes of popular areas and even red-light areas are the inhabited spaces. 

Hijras have a custom of passing on their property to their ehelas after their death. Most of the hijras live in single tenement rooms and inside their rooms they have segregated the areas for different activities. Some hijras stay in closed quarters with the main stream of people and hold good relations with them. Another peculiarity which can be marked is that, they always keep their houses open and hang a curtain outside when the are in. 

RELIGION 

It is quite enlightening to learn that what reigned primarily in the minds of the respondents is the fact that the distinctions of caste and religion, which are uppermost in other people's lives, fades in the background. They emphasise that they are a secular group comprising of individuals from all different caste. 

Deities 

Hindu – Bahucharaji Mata, Kali Mata

Muslim – Bahucharaji Mata, Peer

Christian – Bahucharaji Mata, Jesus 

BAHUCHARAJI MATA- THE GODDESS OF THE HIJRAS 

The hijras in India more less universally believe in Bahucharaji mata or any other mother goddess according to different religions like Amba Bhavani near Mount Abu, Kalika of Pavagad, Tulaja Bhavani in Hyderabad, Amba Bai in Kolhapur, Mata Durga and Mata Kali in Bengal and Yellamma in South India. 

The hijras of Gujarat worship Bahucharaji Mata, whose main temple is situated in the village of Shankhalpur, between Patan and Viramgam, 40 miles to the north of Ahmedabad. The temple is called Bala Tripura Bahucharaji temple. The main old temple has no idol.   It has  a niche in the western wall named after Bahuchara in the wall is a ‘jantra’ the symbol of the valve. Cocks are considered to be the vehicle of the goddess and are offered on her shrine. The temple also had a water tank which reportedly had a magic water. A bath in it would include a change of sex in a person or he would regain sexual vigour.

Once a king called vikram wanted to help a poor Brahmin who suffered from a lack of sexual vigour. He prayed to goddess Bahuchara and also told the Brahmin to go to the temple where his wishes would come true. The Brahmin went to the temple and bathed in the tank and regained his libido. 

In the family of Solanki King, a female child was born and it was announced as a male child birth. As time passed that princess in the form of prince got married with the nearby locality. By chance it so happened that the princess in guise of prince, her pet bitch and a female horse were passing through a jungle. At mid way in hot summer at the temple of Bahucharaji they rested for a while. There was a pond nearby. The bitch jumped into the water. When she came out her sex was changed. This came to the notice of the princess, so she took her female   horse   at  the   pond   and   after  a   bath   that   became a male horse and then the princess took bath and she turned into a male. 

GROUP LIFE 

Both hijras and maugas live in their groups of about two to five members or even individually but they go for their hijra occupation usually in groups. The group serve to fulfil their needs of belonging and security. Inspite of their physical abnormality and peculiarity their basic need of survival is met through the group and their common interest in music and dancing is also perused and fulfilled.

The group life of hijras' group life is organised and cohesive. They have a proper guru chela relationship. The group life of hijras resemble family life to some extent with parental and sibling relationships and bonds of mutual affection and duties. Besides hijras are subjected to firm code of conduct and they have to be faithful to their group and cannot give away secrets. The solidarity and integration of hijras as a community and brotherhood extends over geographic areas also. 

OCCUPATION

Singing, Dancing, begging, Prostitution, Bar Girl, Match Makers, Selling Grains,

Dairy Farming 

HIERARCHY IN OCCUPATION 

Hijras who sing and dance consider themselves as the highest in status in the group. They do only this work and do not beg except on the occasion of Holi, Diwali and Dassera. They consider themselves khas hijra. These hijras are better dressed and they consider their occupation as heritage. For accordance to them it has existed for centuries in the country. They also feel that they have the intimate power by which their pronouncements (curses) could come true. Hence the normal individual should always fear the curses of the hijra. 

Hijras who are beggars are rated second. Those who constituted the beggars group move from shop to shop asking for alms and even at times approached the common man on the street for this purpose. These beggars inturn look down upon the dhandhawallas. 

Dhandhawallas are prostitutes. In the morning these prostitutes carry on the trade of begging but in the evening they practise prostitution. If their clientele is chiefly male, they must satisfy those individuals who were homosexuals by playing the part of passive partners. 

ONCE A YEAR COLLECTION 

Once a year in the new year day they go to the market place and collect money from the shopkeepers. They do not consider this one day as begging. 

TRAINING FOR HIJRA OCCUPATION 

Majority of hijras feel that their occupation, which has chiefly dancing singing require no training, as their dances are not rhythemic or artistic but had quite superficial movements. Besides they also emphasises that usually hijras have natural talent and an intense desire to dance and so dancing and singing and playing drums come automatically to them. After a hijra joins the group the guru teaches him to dance and sing and also the unique way of clapping and begging. After the training he is allowed to go out for earning money only with the other senior hijras and after getting practical experience he is allowed to go out alone. 

PANCHAYAT SYSTEM 

In any organisation there is bound to be disputes and for which justice is required. Hijras never go to the police for settling their matter. At the level of social organisation, the congregation of hijras which takes place annually is called panchayat. This includes hijras from all over India or of a region or of a state. The place, date and month of such a congregation is decided at the previous panchayat. It is held on the occasion of festivals such as Diwali, Dassera, Baisakhi etc. another occasion which marks such meetings or assemblies is the death or death anniversary of a hijra. Decisions are taken on crucial matter at the time of feast. 

Following matters are discussed in the panchayat meeting:

Problems of hijras, Allocation of areas, Law making, Giving justice or punishment to the law breakers 

Hijras always have a set of rules to be followed by all the members of the group, as formulated by the guru of the group. If they are not followed as required then they are given punishment for the same. The punishments are decided by the guru and they are generally in the form of degradation in occupation depending on the severity of the offence. For example if the hijra fights with his fellow mates then he may be given the punishment of begging in certain locality for certain number of days.   If he beats  the  guru  or nayak  then  he may be given the punishment of prostitution in the red light areas etc.

KHAMALIAS

Khamalias are the group of people who play a very important role sn the death ceremony of the hijras. They are the ones whosing and beat the drums and also keep the graves ready. Duringthe medieval  times  Mohmed  Gazni  invaded  Gujrat many times.The invaders  managed  to  get  victory  over  the  king  and  looted the temple  of Prabhas.  Patan  was  in  the  peak  of its prosperity and popularity at that time. Many hindus preferred to die in the hands of invaders rather than seeing their temple being looted.Some Khamalias were also inside the temple for this voluntary death.  But at the last moment they changed their minds and hid themselves   behind  the   doors   of the  temple,  just   as   the   doors being   forced   open   by   the   invaders.   But   later   the   story was uncovered   and   were   known   as   khamalias,   khamad   in   Gujrati means    a    door.    Khamalias    do    not    castrate    themselves    and become hijras but their work is associated with the hijras. 

DEATH CEREMONY

Death ceremony of the hijras is a matter which they always want to keep as a secret. There are many alternatives which are being put forward by the sociologists.

After the death of a hijra the dead body is disposed off as per the rites of the religion which the hijra professed before initiation as a hijra. They hit the dead body with the chappals and utter curses for the dead. The words means in this birth you became a hijru hut in your next birth do not become one. 

Whenever a hijra dies his body is taken for burial in the middle of the night at about 2 a.m. Khamalias keep the grave ready and fetch the body quitely on an inverted charpoy which they cover up with a bed sheet. They bury the dead body usually outside the town or village and never kept any sign of remembrance on the grave. The corpse is brought to the burial ground in some cases on both feet. At no stage it is laid prostrate except during the cremation or burial. It is claded completely in white robe. All the hijra accompanying the funeral are dressed in white. The corpse is then tied to a post on a raised platform. The khamalias beat the drums and some of the hijras go around the platform singing and clapping. They spit on the body, throw stones on the body and abuses it for being a hijra. And then it is taken to the crematorium or grave yard.

PROJECT BACKGROUND 

SOCIAL:  

PAST -In the past the social condition of hijras was totally different from that of today. In different parts of the world they were recognised differently. In Rome they were priest and the choir singers were castrated. In middle east castrated men were appointed as ZANANA guards in harem. In India they were given special recognition in palaces. Their blessings were considered lucky, they were called for wedding and other festival.  

PRESENT - In the past their social conditions was because of the  superstitious beliefs. So now they do not have any place in the society. They are disdained by others. So now they do not have any standard of living. They can be seen in the downtrodden and crowded areas. They are not accepted by the society. At present in spite of their qualification, some hijras are equally qualified as those of other, they are not given any kind of jobs. There is an incident of a hijra which describes the mentality of people.  One hijra started selling fruits in the local trains of Bombay.  She used to be properly dressed like any other female hawkers. Nobody could make her out to be a hijra. One of the passenger called her for purchasing fruit. When she started talking to her she realised her to be a hijra and did not purchase the fruits from her. 

FUTURE - The proposed design is an attempt to uplift the condition of the hijras.    here they will be provided with areas as per their needs and also work area for them, to make them financially stable.

ECONOMIC: 

PAST - In the past hijras were economically stable, as they were given respect and accepted by the society. Their main mode of income was singing and dancing and also begging.  They were called during the birth of male child aisc marriages. They also owned large properties which they passed on to their chelas.  

PRESENT - As they are disdained by the society, they are not anymore called by people for blessings.  So the only way of earning money is begging which is again is not so easy job in today's world. They end up doing forced begging which includes spitting and abusing people. Some hijras also take prostitution as their mode of earning.  

FUTURE - HIJRA UTTHAN KENDRA has a training centre and a work area where they can learn different working skills. The skills are all productive which can be sold and earned. Exhibition areas are for the display for the common people. The shops catering to the temple also adds to the economic stability. These are in addition to the traditional occupation. 

PHYSICAL:  

PAST - In the past they were not provided with any separate area. They were no physically or mentally segregated from the main stream of the society. Like today they never lived in groups.  Their work area was in no way different from the other people. 

PRESENT - In present day there is no separate institution for hijras.  They live in crowded areas. They only have their houses.  In some areas they have chowls or apartment blocks.  Other areas which are required by them are hidden   from common people. They have their own temple, meeting areas etc. they do not have any definite work area. Very less number of hijras have physical identity. The hijras are not allowed to live peacefully. They are physically or mentally tortured. Because of being a third sex they are not given proper job.  

FUTURE - The aim is to bring mainstream closer to them. So if they are provided with separate areas, they should not get segregated from the society. So a place common between both should be there. Here the key is the temple. Residences should be designed on the basis of the hierarchy. Temple complex with all spaces as required by both. Fully equipped work area.  

ARCHITECTURAL ISSUES

The issues described above are the social issues. The life style or the standard of living of the hijras can be uplifted by providing an area or place where they will be given enough opportunity to prove their existence. Here the issues (architectural) which are provided are those which will serve the same purpose. The following are the architectural issues- 

• HABITAT
• RELIGION
• PANCHAYAT
• MEETING
• RECREATION
• TRAINING
• DEATH CEREMONY
• WORK PLACE
• TEMPLE
• CASTRATION
• TREATMENT
• LEGAL CELL 

HABITAT- Hijras live in crowded localities, usually where the lower income group resides. They often stay segregated from the main stream. Hijras sometimes form their own locality where many of them live togetner. The dwellings owned by hijras are owned by the gurus and they are passed on to the chelas. Mostly they live in a single room. They live as a single family. 

Solution - The hijra community is such a kind of community where they give more importance to the group living. So as an architect keeping in mind the user such a kind of space has to be designed which will maintain living in group. So the design should that there are spaces for nayaks, gurus and chelas separately. The space should define the groups distinctly. The dwelling place should also have spaces for communicating with otheT groups. 

RELIGION - As stated earlier the hijras follow the same religion as they followed before joining the group. But all the hijras irrespective of the religion preach Bahucharadevi. 

Solution - It is not required to provide different preaching place   for   different   religion.   Bahucharadevi temple should be designed keeping in mind all the different users. 

PANCHAYAT AND MEETING - As they believe in groupism all major issues are dealt in group. Panchayat is held once in a year. Meetings and discussions take place when large number of hijras come together. During initiation ceremony large number of hijras come to bless the newly formed or joined hijra. 

Solution - The above described spaces are those kind of spaces where large number of people are going to gather together. It need not be a totally covered area. It can be a semi-covered or covered with trees. It should be designed as such a kind of space where a function or celebration can take place. It should be easily accessible to the users should not be totally in the private areas. 

RECREATION - Recreation spaces are required by the people residing there as well as those who are going to visit the place. Recreation for the hijras mainly include singing and dancing. 

Solution - Taking into account the quality of the space it can be designed only as a landscaped area, with lots of sitting area. 

TRAINING AREA - All the hijras who join the group has to know singing and dancing. They are given proper training for the same mainly for hijra occupation. The nayak or guru   teaches the chelas. 

Solution - Singing and dancing are the main hijra occupation. Whoever joins the group should be able to sing and dance properly. They will be taught proper dancing and singing so that it can become a mode of earning. It will be provided with teaching area as well as practising area. 

DEATH CEREMONY - All the hijras perform a grand death ceremony after death of any hijra. Death ceremony is such a thing which they always try to hide from the common people. In the ceremony the dead body is tied to a post which generally stands on a platform. And the hijras go round and round the body abusing and cursing it for taking birth as a hijra They also spit on it and beat it with chappals. 

Solution - The space for death ceremony should not be physically as well as visually accessible. It is generally in  the  form of  a platform  and  an ambulatory path. It should have a seating area. Khamaliyas should also be provided with an area.

WORK AREA -For up-liftment of hijras they should be given or taught different types of productive work. Work area help them to earn their living with dignity.

Solution - Here in the present design different work areas are provided. A proper storage facility with an exhibition space should also be designed for the same. 

TEMPLE - The aim of this design is to bring the hijra community and mainstream together in one premises, where they can freely without any agony and fear communicate with each other. A key is required between both of them to bind them together.

Solution - In the site the temple should be given most importance. The monumentality of the temple structure should be maintained with respect to the other structures surrounding it.

CASTRATION AREA - Most of the hijras who join the group are castrated to become hijra. They generally have an elaborate castration ceremony as described earlier. There are different stages of castration which requires different spaces with different characteristics.

Solution - The castration ceremony has different stages. The area should be provided with a temple, horn area, seating area, ambulatory path and a dark room. After 40 days after castration they take a holy bath and so a shuddha kunj should be provided. 

TREATMENT AREA - As it is a dwelling area for the hijras they will be needing a treatment area. The treatment area should also cater to the people who will visit the site. The castration ceremony also requires a treatment station during the 40 days vanya prastha The treatment area should be placed in such an area where it will cater to all the three of the above. 

LEGAL CELL - It is a cell consisting of mainly social workers, gurus, nayaks and legal personnel. They are appointed, to prevent any mishap to the society. All the hijras who undergo castration has to pass through the legal cell for consulting.  

Solution-  legal cell generally will comprise of consulting rooms and such a way located that they have to pass through it before castration

MY DESIGN

The project HIJRA UTTHAN KENDRA at Shankhalpur, Ahmedabad is an attempt to uplift the conditions of the hijras of our country. It is an institution which will provide the hijras with proper dwelling place, working place as well as other areas which are exclusively required by the hijras.

The site which has been chosen is the temple complex of BAHUCHARA DEVI, who is their main deity. Following the rules and laws of design of Hindu temples main axes has been created using the roads. The old small temple is exactly at the centre of the site which has four entrances form the axes. The temple acts as a key between the hijras and the society. People come and visit the temple frequently. The temple is believed to have a spiritual strength. The goddess hears to her pilgrims and blesses them according to their wish.

There will basically be three temples -the old main temple, the main shrine -castration temple

All the temples faces east. For the main shrine there is a garb ha griha and an assembly area. The garbha griha is higher than the assembly area thus creating a clear storey lighting arrangement The garbha griha gets morning sun light directly entring in. The temple is a modern temple constructed in modern technology. The temple does not have the conventional hindu temple architecture.

The site is such a way divided by the east - west axis, that the part on the southern side which is flanking the main highway road is totally public area and the part on the northern side is totally private, meaning only accessed by the hijras residing there. On the northern side the road stretches till the end of the site to the funeral procession area, which is such a way located that it is far from the reach of the people coming to the site for the purpose of visiting the temple. The residential area which is placed in between the main temple and the funeral procession area creates a visual barrier for the other people.

For their professional life there are two types of spaces provided, one for training of hijra profession i.e singing and dancing and the other vocational training area where some useful productive work will be taught to them. They will be made to make some products which can be exhibited and sold and for that an exhibition area is also provided. On the south eastern side there is dharmashala area. This is flanking the high way and also near both the entrances i.e. from the highway and from the bus depot.

The entire site is kept free of vehicular movement so the parking area is kept just at the entrance and rest all the roads in the site are pedestrian roads. One road goes totally around the two temple housing the training area, exhibition area, administration, meeting area and dining area for the hijras as well as the people visiting the temple. Residential area is designed in such a way that the hierarchy of their community. There are mainly seven khandan and these khandan has many families. For each khandan there are seven housing blocks provided which has five subdivisions for the family of gurus and chelas.

Castration area has one more temple and horn area in its front. There is a grand sitting area around it. For holy bath a stepped well is provided which continuing the wonder of Ahmedabad and it also acts as an attraction for the people to the site. The materials which are used are the materials which are readily available there- bricks, sand stone (red and yellow). The structural members are of R.C.C. and rest of the part of the building is of exposed bricks.

There is a treatment area provided and it is such a way located that it can cater to both the people visiting the site as well as the hijras residing there. There area certain areas which acts as a communicating areas between the hijras and common people. They are the working areas, exhibition areas, stepped well, the temples, shops and treatment area. These types of spaces are required for bridging the gap between them. The pedestrian roads in the site also helps somewhat in reducing the gap as all over the site there will be hijras and the people have o face them and come across the circumstances where they will have to communicate with the other.