INDIA-RELIGION-HINDUISM-FESTIVAL-LGBTQ

This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows Thilothama, a member of the transgender community offering prayers to a chariot procession of Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom, for the past 10 years Thilothama has returned to Koovagam, where a beauty pageant and singing contests are held alongside religious rituals. (Photo by R.Satish BABU / AFP via Getty Images)