Thousands of people gathered in a village in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday 20 April for India's largest transgender festival.

Koovagam, a village in Villupuram district, played host to the gathering, which draws transgender, transvestite and cis-gender people from across the country.

The festival lasts 18 days and falls in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra, around April, and is largely focussed on the Koothandavar Temple.

The Hindu Lord Aravan is a central part of the festival. In Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna took female form in order to marry Lord Aravan the day before he sacrificed his life to Goddess Kali in order that his father would win a battle to end the Kurukshetra war.

As a way of remembering Lord Aravan's sacrifice, the transgender people at the festival dress themselves as brides, to be wed by priests.

Mirroring the myth of Lord Aravan's final day, there is a grand celebration that night and the following day they clad themselves in white to mourn the 'death' of their husband.

The festival is considered very important by India's transgender community, as many feel it is one of the only occasions when they are valued for who they are.

Location : Koovagam, Villupuram district in Tamilnadu State in South India.

Koovagam is a village in the Ulundurpettai taluk in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu. The Koovagam festival is the biggest transgender festival of India that takes place for 18 long days in the month of April. This festival is the only festival that unites all of the transgender and transversatile community from all across the country with the cis community.

It is the story of a person who sacrificed his life to Goddess Kali for the victory of his father in battlefield.

But he had a wish befor sacrificing his life. It was that he wished to be married before his death. As no woman wished to suffer impending widowhood for the rest of her life, no one stepped forward to marry him. To fulfil his wish, God Krishna himself transformed into Mohini (a women ) and married him. The marriage was consummated and the following day, he was sacrificed to Goddess Kali. His wife mourned her husband’s death.

On remembering the sacrifice the transgenders dress themselves as brides and are each wedded off by the priests. After a grand celebration that night, the following day, they clad themselves in white and mourn the death of their husband .

This festival is of utmost importance to the entire transgender community in India as they feel that it’s the only place and time when they’re truly acknowledged for who they are.