In late 2015 I read a story about a young girl called Naina Singh who was undergoing a gender transformation. I was immediately drawn towards knowing more about her because for me it represented a story of immense courage and conviction.

Gender fluidity is a huge issue in India and only very recently has the third gender been recognised legally by the government of India (even though they don't have many more rights beyond the recognition). And here was Naina who had the conviction to fight for her identity and choice of life, that too as a teenager, which is a difficult enough time for most in general.

Also, in my research, every piece that I saw or read about her presented a very bleak version of the story with a sense of over-sensitisation and almost re-establishing the stigma associated with discussing or presenting such issues. And everyone was talking about the boy that was Krishna, and no one about the girl that is Naina.

Through this piece I wanted people to get a chance to meet the real Naina - a regular 17 year old teenage girl who loves to pout and take selfies and through her experiences and thoughts, get an insight into the issues faced by Transgender people in India.

The piece was featured by several publications + online portals including The Caravan, The Huffington Post, Indiatimes amongst others, sparking a charged discourse on gender fluidity and tabboos in Indian society.

‘Meet Naina’ was part of a web based documentary series about emerging subcultures called Now Delhi [2011-2016]