Hijras (Transsexuals) at the annual Aravan Mela in Koovagam, India

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In Hindu culture glass bangles are one of the marks of a married woman. And just as any Hindu woman will break her bangles upon becoming a widow, so too a temple priest breaks the bangles of the hijras over whose wedding he presided just the previous day.

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Size: 5100px × 3386px
Location: Koovagam, India
Photo credit: © Leonid Plotkin / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: aravan, aravani, araven, asia, celebration, cross, cross-dresser, crossdresser, dresser, festival, hijra, india, koovagam, mela, nadu, ritual, tamil, tradition, traditional, trannie, tranny, trans-gender, trans-sexual, transgender, transsexual, transvestite, villupuram