For a large number of visitors at ‘Escalera’, the Women Entrepreneurs and Innovators’ Expo at Kozhikode Beach, Aruvi is a novelty. Some keep staring at her, while some others point her out to their friends covertly. Some have a problem purchasing her products. But nothing stops this transwoman from rewriting her destiny.
Aruvi handles sales for a direct marketing firm and has managed to find her niche in the sector. She is thankful to her employer for trusting her when the rest of the world shunned her. She also aims to set a model for other transwomen. “Most transwomen prefer to go into the beauty parlour field as they find more acceptance in it. I wanted to take a different path by excelling in it,” said Aruvi.
There are several crowd-puller stalls at the expo, the biggest being the one that sells bows and arrows. The craftsmen from Rajasthan who make the equipment also assists customers to try them out.
Live caricature, portrait drawing and painting sessions are being organised, and they are drawing large crowds.
The expo has a wide variety of handicraft products on display. Bags made of screwpine and water hyacinth leaves from Thrissur, bamboo bags from Thiruvananthapuram, and jute bags and cloth bags by local artisans are among them. Besides the traditional Kerala handicrafts in wood, bamboo, and clay, flowers made of areca leaves from Malappuram are notable.
The Onam fashion is at its peak at the expo, with a large number of women entrepreneurs coming up with innovative designs. There are quite a few hand-made jewellery stalls too.
However, the largest crowd-pullers are stalls featuring food products such as banana chips, pickles, jams, and spices. The Kudumbashree food court is the ultimate destination for foodies though.
