Ironically, the photographer may think of himself as being a free agent—an archivist in control of his subject—but, as Banu points out, the dynamics of power get subtly inverted without their knowledge at Koovagam. “My community of sisters, mothers and daughters demanded that he see them,” she writes, handing back control to the trans women, who allow the “other” to enter their exclusive space every year and partake of a life-changing experience. Cherian, too, confirms this fact. As one trans woman put it to him when he went back this year, “This festival is like a family reunion for me, I belong here. It is you who are the outsider here.”
