The ayurvedic doctor, who was a male at birth, recognized her feminine identity in her childhood. So right from the start, she was frustrated by the thought of living in a “wrong body.” It was difficult for Dr Priya to portray her true mannerisms at school.
At the age of 15, she realized that she would not be able to expose her identity to society for fear of being ridiculed or bullied.
At the same time, though, she was reluctant to disclose her true identity to her parents. She was still apprehensive about how her parents were going to get the news and all she could do at the time was write down her issues in a notebook that her parents eventually found.
The first thing my parents did was take me to the hospital, hoping I could be helped by a psychiatrist. Luckily, the doctor also said I had no mental problems.
Masking My Identity
It was difficult for Dr Priya to portray her true mannerisms at school. While she reveals that she still managed to keep her true identity secret. After finishing school, she was thinking about moving to a different place just to live as a woman. Yet she couldn’t imagine leaving her family because she was so close to her parents.
“Since my parents are both nurses, they wanted me and my brother to become physicians. Though my brother finished his MBBS and is currently working at a Bengaluru hospital, I wanted to be a teacher. However, for the sake of my parents, I wanted to try my hands on medicine,” says the tricenarian.
After completing the entrance exam, she entered Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda College, Ollur, Thrissur in 2013. “I finished my Bachelor’s degree in Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) as a man,” she says, adding, “Just to avoid questions about marriage, I pursued Medicinae Doctor (MD) in Mangaluru. After completing the course, I was given the opportunity to work as a guest lecturer at Government Ayurveda Medical College, Tripunithura and Government Ayurveda College, Kannur.”
All the while, Dr Priya says, it was hard to be somebody she wasn’t. “During this time, I was really trying hard to be more manly. From walking to dressing like a guy, I was really particular about not disclosing my feminine identity.”
“My Mom Stood By Me”- Dr VS Priya
But it was only in 2018, when she entered the Sitaram Ayurveda Hospital, Thrissur, as a doctor, that things changed. Dr Priya expresses, along with doing well in her professional career, that her parents were proud of her. “I was content with my life, but I was still haunted by my identity. It was then that I realized that I wanted to tell my parents about my identity and to opt for surgery,” she says.
“I began research on gender reassignment surgery, its costs and its effects. Then, confidently, I told my parents the truth. They were more saddened than surprised, and I can understand their emotions, but I wouldn’t do justice to myself if I hadn’t told the truth. In the end, it was my study that helped me persuade my parents,” she says.
Dr Priya says that this time, instead of accusing her, her parents supported her decision. “My mom was standing by me in the hospital during my numerous surgeries,” she says.
Today, after going through six surgeries, Dr Priya says, “I’ve got two more surgeries—voice therapy and cosmetic surgery—to go through. The cost of surgery varies according to needs. Standard transplantation surgery costs up to Rs 3 lakh, but I needed it to be fine. So, I opted for a more costly Rs 8 lakh surgery. I took the money from my savings for operations, but 95 per cent of it was provided by my parents.”
Coming Back To Life
Speaking of returning to work as her true self, the doctor says she told the hospital authorities about her operations. “I was a little nervous thinking about how hospital management would respond to my transition. But it was easy for me. Right from the nurses to the MD at the hospital—they were all supportive. When I told them that I was going to return as Dr VS Priya, they were more than pleased,” remembers Priya.
However, it wasn’t just the authorities she was worried about. She says, “I was also tense about my daily patients and how they would respond to my new identity. So, I told them about this and I prepared them for the transition. Most of them were curious to know about the surgery, and I cleared all their questions as it was my social duty to them as a trans-woman doctor.”
She adds that even though our culture is evolving and people are welcoming trans people, we still have a long way to go.
Talking about changing her name, the doctor, identified as Dr Jinu Sasidharan earlier, says, “Jinu is a unisex name, but I wanted something different. Initially, I thought of calling myself ‘Janaki,’ but my cousin suggested the name ‘Priya,’ which means loved by all. I felt that my name should be simple to pronounce and sweet, which is why, from here on, I choose to be named Priya.”
