Since an early age, Subhashree related more in every way to women than to men. She remembers seeing her mother in sarees and wanted nothing more than to look like her. As she grew up, she realized that she had to take charge of her life and not depend on others. She had to accept herself for who she was.
Subhashree states that she didn’t know the term “trans”, but has always felt like a girl. So it was only natural that during her school days she spent most of her time with the girls in her co-ed school. This didn’t sit well with the boys of her class and led to bullying. The same situation followed her in college as well, where the harassment by boys continued. It became so bad that she couldn’t even finish her BBA degree.
Regardless, she has always had strong organizational skills – she helped conduct most of the events at her school, such as Independence Day, Republic Day, Saraswati Puja etc. She is also a talented singer and has sung in various TV shows and government programmes. Her personal favourite is Rabindra Sangeet – song renditions of Rabindranath Tagore’s poems. She even gives online lessons on Rabindra Sangeet.
In 2019, she came to know about PeriFerry via Google as she was searching for jobs. Her trans identity makes it difficult for her to get jobs in Kolkata, her hometown, as she states that “Kolkata isn’t a trans friendly city.” She has just completed her second round of interviews and is awaiting responses for the same. Her family has accepted her, which she says, is a source of comfort and joy. Some days are good and others are difficult – some days she struggles with financial and job security. But she survives and persists.
Bio –
Subhashree is a talented singer, specializing in Rabindra Sangeet, which are song renditions of Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry. She has sung at various TV shows and government events and gives singing lessons on Rabindra Sangeet online. For her, Rabindra Sangeet is an intrinsically important part of her life, and she can’t imagine her life without it.
