Breaking into the traditional male bastion, four women entered the field of Pulikkali (tiger dance) in 2016. Perhaps, history was rewritten again this year when a ‘transgender tiger’ danced along with other male counterparts during a Pulikkali performance organised in Thrissur on Tuesday.
Praveen Nadh, a trans man from Nenmara, Palakkad, performed the tiger dance for the Ayyanthole Desam team, which staged an online performance this time that was streamed live on Facebook.
Body builder
Unlike the customary pot-bellied tigers, Praveen Nadh is a body builder. He was named Mr. Kerala 2021 in the transgender category. With his ‘muscular’ show on Tuesday, he has quickly earned a nickname — ‘Jimman Puli’ — from his fellow tigers.
Ayyanthole Desham is known to sometimes bring in novelty in their Pulikkali performances. They were one of the two teams that brought women to the arena of tiger dance. The team conducted a virtual Pulikkali last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unique move
In another unique move this time, all the team members had signed a willingness for organ donation. “I was really happy to become a member of such a unique team,” said Praveen Nadh, who said he had earlier not even watched a Pulikkali performance in person, except on television. “This has been a new experience. I enjoyed it,” he said.
He is now training for Mr. South India Body Building Championship, which will be held after two months.
