Eunuchs dance for salvation

BALANGIR: They come here from across the country to attain freedom from the cursed life. Every year, on the wedding night of Sital Sasthi, the eunuchs gather in Balangir to participate and perform in the return barat of Lord Shiva.A group of bar dancers from Mumbai, all   eunuchs, performed to their heart’s content on Monday night. The jeering spectators notwithstanding what brings them here is a religious connection and not monetary factor. Aware that they won’t be earning what they manage in a day in Mumbai, they wait for this special day each year. One of them, Sweety said it was a religious duty for her to perform during the festival. “We feel content after performing in the festival. We wait for this opportunity,” she said.  Though the festival is based on the celestial wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvati, the eunuch shows -- performed by different groups of eunuchs --  hired by  puja committees, remain the sole attraction. Youths and even children crack jokes with them and at times pass comments while they move round the city. The eunuchs also take it as a pleasure instead of getting offended. Says one of them, “The pain of being a eunuch could not be realised by a normal person.”“We are earning as well as paying our obeisance to Lord Shiva. Unless we perform what public wants, we can’t fulfil both the needs,” explains Rani. They return after the festivities are over only with a promise to come back next year to dance in the devotion of Lord Shiva.