‘The yellow sparrow fell in love
with his own molten loveliness,
The yellow feathers that were shunned by the world
Golden and glorious
A breath of joy escaped from his beak,
and he broke into a happy song…
I am the Yellow Sparrow’
(Khurai, front page)
‘Ulti…becomes the vehicle through which a hijra or koti, disowned or disregarded by their biological kin, enters the community and gives them a sense of belonging and a home in their midst. Ulti becomes the language that enables the community to forge and strengthen these bonds of kinship, solidarity and belonging on a day-to-day basis. It keeps hijras and kotis from drowning in an abyss of silences, slurs and unexpressed sorrow by becoming their language of shared experience, emotional connect and empathy. In many ways—sometimes quite literally—Ulti has emerged as a life affirming force for the community’ (Nandi, p. 5).