Every woman is beautiful in her own way and there should be no competition for the beautiful woman in the world. The word ‘Beautiful’ doesn’t necessarily apply to one’s looks or way of dressing. Beauty is in the way you see it.
At the age of 26, Nitasha Biswas scripted history and made the whole world look at her. Yes, Nitasha’s life had a lot of thrills and chills. She went on to become the country’s first Miss Transqueen in Gurgaon, which changed her life completely.
After being done with her management studies, Nitasha, a former student of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, shifted to Delhi to pursue fashion and modelling. Her life saw a massive turn when she took part in the event after seeing a post on social media.
Narrating on the pageant, she says, “It was an experience of a lifetime. I got to meet a lot of people from different regions sharing the same passion. We worked hard for about seven months to perfect our ramp walk, posture, diet management, etc. I will never forget the crowning moment. I went blank for a few seconds with the heaviness of the crown on my head. All the struggle that I went through flashed in front of my eyes.”
Nitasha’s journey has been a long one. She lost her mother at a young age, and it was her father who looked after her. She talks proudly of her family and says, “Initially it was tough for my father to accept that his son was going through a transformation. In fact, it impacted him so deeply that he stopped talking to me for almost seven months. That was perhaps the toughest part of my conversion – not having my family beside me.”
“I knew about my sexuality from a young age. But, as I came from a strict family background I couldn’t open up as early as I would have wanted to. Years later, I finally opened up to my brother. He thought it was just a phase. But soon, both my father and he realised that I was serious and my need for a transition was real. From then on, I had their support. They were always there in each of my phases of transition,” she says.
For Nitasha, the transition was not that easy as it took her around six years to accept herself with her new body. She also elaborated further about the Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) that one has to undergo and the physical and emotional pain that it takes on the body.
“During the transformation process, there is a phase when you have both male and female attributes, and it was impossible for me to even step out of my house during that period. It was a lonely journey. I was a source of a lot of ridicule,” she told Better India.
“Even though the medical transition takes about three years, the entire journey, including counselling, takes about six years. But it was all worth it. I knew that the transition would take time, so I completed my studies before jumping into it,” she says.
“Many transgenders go through a lot of emotional pain and severe depression. In fact, because of not getting mainstream jobs, they often have to resort to taking up sex work. This is what needs to desperately change,” she added.
It is not about the gender it’s about being human according to Nitasha. “Let’s learn to be humane. Gender is not something that is defined by what is in between your legs. Gender is just a notion in our minds. I was nurtured and brought up by my father who played both the gender roles – he was a mother and a father to me.”
She also said, “I am not asking for any rights from any of you. By doing that I will be automatically put you on a higher pedestal. The rights you have, I have too. Let’s just learn to open our hearts and accept.”
Nitasha talked about her future plans adding that she is interested to come into Bollywood as well. “I had worked as a stylist for Bengali movies and was interested in modelling. Now that I have won the coveted crown, I will continue my work in the field of modelling and eventually venture into Bollywood as well. Winning the crown got me to realise that this is not just a beauty pageant; I have become the torchbearer of my community,” she added.