Steve Cooper Hijda Goddess

Steve Cooper Hijda Goddess
Originally uploaded by flickr photographerno1

JOBLESS Steve Cooper has found work at last — as an Indian GODDESS who thousands of Hindus believe can cure their infertility.

Pilgrims head to a remote jungle temple to be blessed by Steve, 32, from Tooting, South West London.

He places his third finger on the their foreheads and mutters: “The goddess is here”.

Surrounded by followers, Steve told The Sun: “I love being here. I don’t miss anything about Tooting.”

He is regarded as a reincarnation of Bahucharaji, the patron of Indian eunuchs. He has been at the temple in the northern state of Gujarat for three months.

Every time Steve walks through the local village, people flock to greet him, shouting: “Jay Bahuchar Ma” - “The goddess is here.”

Gender bender Steve calls himself Pamela. But his devotees have dubbed him Prema — Hindi for Divine Love.

He said: “All my life I just didn’t fit.

“Now I’ve found my life. I plan to stay for good. I couldn’t leave now.

“They revere me and believe I am a goddess. I feel what they feel in me.”

Steve was living in a tiny flat in Tooting until deciding on his new career after Indian friends told him he looked and moved just like the ancient goddess.

As soon as he arrived at the temple he was treated as a deity.

He now gets up at dawn and dresses in a holy saffron robe before beginning the daily ritual of blessings.

Steve said: “I feel as if I have come home. I was meant to be here. When I first came to the temple, I sat down and smiled. Everything fell into place.

“After about 20 minutes everyone crowded around and I naturally started blessing people. When I touch people I connect with them.”

Hindu pilgrims have no doubts about his powers. When we asked Bhanu Barot why she was so keen to receive Prema’s blessing, she said, simply: “Because she is a goddess.”

Another woman, Rekha, said she had travelled for days to be blessed by Steve. She added: “My sister-in-law came here and she got pregnant immediately.

“I am hoping the same will happen for me after receiving the blessing of the goddess.” But last night Steve’s stunned brother Justin Cooper said: “He’s just an ordinary guy.

“He never told me anything about this.”

Steve now follows a strict vegetarian diet and sleeps in a spartan room. He lives among 80 eunuchs — castrated men — at the temple. But some have their doubts that he is equipped to be a goddess.

A eunuch called Sudha said: “He is a fake. I checked and he still has a peni*.

“He is a male so can’t be a goddess. He shouldn’t give blessings.” Steve, who has a tattoo of the goddess on his arm, just insisted: “I am both male and female.”

He grew up in Shepshed, Leics, with brother Justin.

Unmarried printer Justin, 36, who still lives in the town, said: “I last saw him about four years ago.

“He had developed a fascination with Hinduism and was visiting temples in London.

“Then about eight months ago he sent me a text saying he was off to India — then another arrived saying he was loving it.

“But we had no idea of the role he was playing.”

Followers of the goddess Bahucharaji Mata believe she was once a princess who castrated her husband because he showed no interest in sex.

Sita Ben Rawal, a trustee of the temple, said of Steve: “People think it is the power of the goddess Bahucharaji that has driven her to come here.

“I’m surprised someone from London would want to come here but we are very happy.”

Vanraj Thakor, who manages the temple guest house where Steve lives, added: “Even here, pilgrims come to receive blessings. It’s incredible.”

www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2007140831,00.html - source

taken from the net topics on third sex…

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Koovagam is a village in the Ulundurpet taluk in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu. It is famous for its annual festival of hijras and homosexuals, which takes fifteen days in the Tamil month of Chitrai (april/may).

The festival takes place at the Koothandavar Temple. The hijras marry the Lord Koothandavar, thus reenacting an ancient myth of Lord Vishnu/Krishna who married him after taking a form of a woman called Mohini. The next day, hijras mourn the god Koothandavar’s death through ritualistic dances and by breaking their bangles. An annual beauty peageant and several other competitions like singing contests are held.

Basic rights of hijras and healthcare are discussed in seminares too.

Hijras from different places travel to this festival. A lot of men, who do not identify as hijras or even homosexuals gather there to have sex with the hijras during the festival.

Navarasa (film)

Navarasa (Nine Emotions) (2005) is a film directed by Santosh Sivan. The film is in Tamil, with English subtitles. It has met with a strong reception since its release, and has been shown at many film festivals across the world including the Singapore International Film Festival, the Pusan International Film Festival, Korea, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, Taiwan, the Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil and the Lyon Asian Film Festival, France among others. In January, 2006 it was selected as an official entry to the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

The film revolves around the story of a young girl Shweta (P. Shwetha) taking her first steps towards adulthood. Ready for the adventure, the thirteen year old is upbeat, however soon discovers that every night, her uncle Gautam (Kushboo) transforms himself into a woman to lead a completely different life. When Shweta confronts Gautam on the matter, Gautam tells her he wishes to run away and marry Aravan at a local festival, the Koovagam Festival. The festival is held annually where people of the third gender regularly meet to re-enact the story of Aravan, a character from the epic Mahabharata. Shweta decides to find her uncle and bring him back home, and along the way, she makes new friends of the third gender, and discovers a whole new culture.

April 20th, 2007
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