Bharatpur: The adage “Everything is fair in love and war” was proven true in the town of Deeg in India’s Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.
Meera Kuntal, a physical education teacher at the Government Secondary School in Bharatpur, has undergone gender change surgery to become a male and now goes by the name Aarav Kuntal.
After the gender change, Aarav married Kalpana, his student from the school. They fell in love while in school, but the same gender was creating problems in their lives. That is when she decided to change gender.
Speaking about their love affair, Kalpana told ANI, “I loved her. Even if she had not undergone this surgery, I would have married her. I went along with her for the surgery.”
Aarav said that he was unable to accept his body. He felt trapped within his body. It was way back in 2010 that he came across a newspaper cutting from where he got to know about the surgery and since then wanted to get it done. And, after much research and consideration, they finally zeroed in on Dr Narendra Kaushik of Olvec Hospital in Delhi.
Speaking to ANI, Aarav said: “I always wished to undergo surgery to change my gender. I had my first surgery on 25 December 2019.” His surgery was conducted in phases and lasted three years, which ended in December 2021.
Talking about his son, Aarav’s father Veeri Singh said that he never felt as if he was a girl. Aarav (Meera) was always proactive in sports and has never worn the attire of a girl. He always dressed as a boy and we supported him. Aarav’s father said, “My other four daughters tie Rakhi to Aarav now and their children call him ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle)”.
Aarav was a physical education teacher and coach of Kabaddi in the school where Kalpana studied. Meera trained Kalpana and she performed excellently in tournaments. Under Meera’s guidance, Kalpana played for the nationals in Kabaddi while she was in senior secondary and currently is an international player. Their love blossomed during the coaching and Kalpana stood by Aarav’s side throughout his three-year journey of the sex reassignment surgery.
They finally married on the November 4 and both of their families have accepted their decision and are happy and supportive. Kalpana is all set to play in the International Pro-Kabaddi tournament in Dubai in January 2023.
What is gender reassignment surgery?
Gender change surgery, which is also called gender reassignment surgery (GRS) or gender confirmation surgery (GCS), refers to procedures that help people transition to their self-identified gender. It alters a transgender or transsexual person’s physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender.
