Kalki Subramaniam

Kalki Subramaniam is a Transgender Rights Activist, Writer, Artist, and an Entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu. Kalki Subramaniam was born in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India. Kalki Subramaniam graduated with a Master's in Journalism & Mass Communication from Madurai Kamaraj University. Kalki published the first Tamil Magazine for transgender people in India called Sahodari. In 2009 when a matrimonial website rejected a transgender woman for matrimonial listing, Kalki launched India’s first matrimonial website for transgender people. Kalki created many documentary films on LGBT rights and appeared in International documentary films. Kalki organized the first LGBTQI pride march in Coimbatore city of Tamil Nadu, in October 2019.

Kalki founded the Sahodari Foundation, an organization that advocates for Transgender people in India, in 2008. In 2017 Kalki started a Transheart art project, through which Kalki trained more than 200 transgender people in creating expressive artworks supporting their livelihood. In 2011 Kalki worked in a Tamil film in a lead role titled Narthagi, Kalki made a special appearance in the 2018 Tamil film Sarkar in the song Oru Viral Puratchi, and Kalki acted in a lead role in the Hindi film named Kalashnikov-The Lone Wolf in the 2019, won the best film jury honors at the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival. In 2016 Kalki Subramaniam sold the paintings through a crowdfunding campaign and funded the education of underprivileged transgender women.

Kalki Subramaniam used art as a Voice without words to provide transgender victims of sexual and physical abuse the freedom to express their pain through art called The Red Wall Project in 2018, which is also known as The Shut Up! Show. Kalki’s collection of Tamil poems on transgender lives, titled Kuri Aruthean, published by Vikatan Publications in 2015. In 2018 from the collection Kuri Aruthean, three of her poems were translated into the German Language. Kalki directed a poetic short film titled Vadu (The Scar) based on Six of her poems. Kalki wrote and published many pieces, and articles. Kalki published a collection of her pieces, art, Monologue, and English poems titled We Are Not The Others in 2021, which was then published by Notion Press.

Kalki Subramaniam received Achievers Award from the Coimbatore Lawyers Association, and Facebook chose Kalki as one of the 12 Inspiring Women of the World who use Facebook as a community development platform for empowerment in 2014. Kalki was nominated by NDTV for the Woman of Worth Award under arts category in 2016. In 2018 Kalki was honored by MG Motors as one of the Finest Changemakers of India. In 2019 Kalki was Conferred the title of International Ambassador for Life for the TransAmsterdam organization in the Netherlands. Kalki received the Seva Ratna Award from K.C Pullaiah Foundation at Proddatur, Andhra Pradesh, in 2021.