Vijayarajamallika, known as Daivathinte Makal, is a transgender poet in Malayalam literature,[1] She is a writer, teacher, social worker, inspirational speaker, and activist.
Vijayarajamallika describes herself as being "a woman in my heart…even though I was in the male body".[2] Vijayarajamallika is an intersex person with Klinefelter syndrome or 47 XXY, which she discovered at the age of 32 after doing Karyotyping from Government Medical College, Kozhikode.[4] She says that "knowing that she is an intersex is the proudest moment in her life"[2][4]
She was married to Jashim, a software engineer. It was a controversial love marriage. The parents and relatives of Jashim were opposed to the marriage which was held in the office of Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad state committee at Thrissur.[5][6]
Career
Daivathinte Makal (Daughter of God), her first collection of poetry, has been included in the syllabus of a course at the Department of Malayalam at Madras University.[7][8] The poem, "Maranantharam" from Daivathinte Makal was included in the curriculum of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala,[9] and another poem, "Neelambari" from Daivathinte Makal, was included in the curriculum of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit.[9] "Maranantharam" a notable poem from this book was translated into English by N. P. Ashley and was published in the book The World that Belongs to Us by Harper Collins.[10][11][12]
Vijayarajamallika is the founder of Sahaj International, India's first transgender alternative learning center[13][14][15][16] which worked in collaboration with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) at Kochi. She winded up Sahaj International as Kerala Government incorporated transgender education through the Kerala State Literacy Mission.
Aan Nadhi (Male River), her second poetry collection, was published by Mythri Books Thiruvanathapuram. It describes the life and struggles of LGBTIAQ+ people with special reference to transgender and Intersex communities.[1] Aan Nadhi was significant in contributing ten new words to Malayalam Literature.[citation needed]
Vijayarajamallika's autobiography Mallikavasantham is the first transgender autobiography in Malayalam literature.[17][3] She won the Swami Vivekanadhan Yuva Prathibha Award for literature in 2019[18] instituted by the Kerala State Youth Welfare Board for this autobiography.[19] It also bagged the first ever Leela Menon literary award in the category of autobiography.[20][21]
"Aanalla Pennalla Kanmani nee"[22] is a lullaby penned by Vijayarajamallika[23] which is reported to be the first intersex lullaby[24][25] in the history of World Literature.
Daivathinte Makal won the Yuvakala Sahithi Vayalar Award in 2019.[26] The State of Kerala has honored her for her contributions and achievements[27] in the field of literature from the transgender community during the ‘Varnapakittu 2019[28]’, the first-ever transgender arts festival organized by the social justice department.
Ormayil Ragini[29] is an yearly event organized by Vijayarajamallika in memory of actress Ragini.[30]
