VOICING THE INNER CONFLICT IN KALKI SUBRAMANIAM’S KALI, MAHA KALI

Abstract

The transgender communities in India are subjected to discrimination and violence throughout their lives due to their gender identity. This paper focuses on the physical and mental trauma trans people face in society as portrayed in the poem Kali, Maha Kali taken from We Are Not The Others: Reflections Of a Transgender Activist (2021) by Kalki Subramaniam. The poem is an outrageous cry of suffering she underwent during her transition. The study is validated through Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, narrative, and History by Cathy Caruth. Sex is a biological trait whereas gender is a cultural facet. In Indian society, the consonance of gender is confined to male and female. And this scenario makes the third gender ignored and alienated. Kalki in her poem talks about the pain of subjugation she faced from her family, friends, and society.