Salman Rushdie investigates Indias transsexual underworld
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Entertainment.TimesOnline.co.uk - Salman Rushdie
In his contribution to Aids Sutra, a collection of essays about the HIV/Aids problem in India, Salman Rushdie reports on the culture of the hijra
According to Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus, the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, fell so passionately in love with a nymph named Salmacis that they beseeched Zeus to unite them for all time, and were joined in a single body in which both sexes remained manifest.
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Edited extract from Aids Sutra
Aids Sutra: Untold Stories from India edited by Negar Akhavi
Vintage, £8.99; 352pp Buy the book
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- Pristine Angie 9/08/2008 11:56 Thanks for the interesting article Jon. Anyone who is interested in the mentioned sculpture on Elephanta island only need to type "Ardhanari" in wikipedia. Now, the whole story of Hermaphroditus falling in love with a nymph named Salmacis....uh...is this Rushdie trying to come out of the closet obliquely? :-P
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