Om Santhi Om

Well, it's New Year rant time again. Fortunately for me Santhi came on the scene and offered me peace of mind. I'm referring to she-man, the Mr. Lady who won the silver at the Asiad for us. I liked the fact that she made it all the way to an international meet for her country. Not a mean feat.
For those who don't follow sports news: Santhi won silver for India in 800 metres at the Doha Asiad. And, when she was standing there on top of the podium with the silver medal hanging around her neck, some people felt there was something else also hanging in that general area. The question in the mind of everyone was (plagiarized from a Dave Barry description of ancient Olympics where athletes competed in the buff) "Is it a javelin you're carrying or are you just glad to see all these girls?" Anyway, she was subjected to a gender test and the question of her medal "hung" (sorry, couldn't help it) in the balance for many days. After the games got over, the officials decided to take her medal away, which is kind of sad. I was personally in favour of giving her a gold for taking the Indian officials and the whole nation for a ride - a happy ride - I must say, as long as it lasted. Luckily, the Tamil Nadu government decided to give her the 15 minutes of fame and the Rs. 15 lakh as it had promised, proving that, as a state, it is far more progressive than even the Scandinavians. Also, it had been in a bellicose state ever since the Mulla(i)periyar fight with the mallus (in fact it is in a permanent bellicose state considering the earlier fights with Karnataka for Cauvery waters). "Hey, ennappa? Does it matter that she is a he? No, and we, in Tamil Land, don't discriminate on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. You need b***s of steel to succeed at that level and she has proved that she got them". Good for her. Him? Whatever.
One would be tempted to think that this is a simple thing. You have it or you don't' have it, right? Well, it's not that simple, says the Hindu newspaper ("Did OCA exclude all possibilities?" Dec. 22.). A person will have to undergo lots of tests to determine his or her gender. The article featured words like testicular feminization, hormones, genitalia and androgens and X,Y chromosomes. So, you people out there, don't be so smug about your gender. If you have the slightest doubt that you're short (or in excess) of some chromosomes, get a gender/transgender expert to evaluate your gender. Who knows, you might have a new Z chromosome in your paraphernalia! Wash it off.