Srinagar, Nov 6: Known for bringing the transgender community to the limelight with his singing talent, a prominent third-gender Kashmiri singer Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Reshma, passed away on Sunday morning.
Babloo, a prominent voice representing the transgender community in the valley, told Rising Kashmir that the demise of Reshma has left a big void within the community which is difficult to fill.
“Reshma worked very hard till his last breath, especially in highlighting the issues faced by our community,” Babloo said. “I personally had a bond of more than 26 years with him. Over these years he worked very hard, especially after his brother passed away as he had to take care of his family which included his four children and their mother along with his own mother.”
Babloo said Abdul Rashid was not keeping well for more than 8 months as he was diagnosed with a fatal illness. On Sunday night, he passed away at SMHS hospital.
Who was Reshma
The transgender community in Kashmir Valley often finds it difficult to manage their livelihood but there are those among them who are supporting not only for themselves but their families too.
According to Babloo, Abdul Rashid belonged to Srinagar’s downtown area and had a good hand in tailoring but was more inclined towards singing.
Reshma was known for the typical and unique song “Hai Hai Wesiye Yaaran Hai Tadpaevnaes” which went viral across social media and is still sung at various wedding functions across the valley.
“After the tragic death of his brother, he became the support of his children with the money he received from singing at wedding ceremonies. He not only provided the best education to those orphans but also provided higher education to them. Today one of them is an engineering graduate while another has completed his Masters degree,” Babloo said.
The others known to Reshma in the neighborhood said that Abdul Rashid had earned a good tailoring art and earned his living from that as well. They said that after the death of his brother, he faced many hardships in meeting daily expenses but he overcame all the difficulties with courage and determination.
Despite being well-versed in tailoring work, Abdul Rashid had an interest in playing songs since childhood and in the later stages of life became popular and was known by the name of Reshma instead of Abdul Rashid. Reshma sang many traditional songs in their own style which became quite popular.
Tried to unite the transgender community
The popular singer, who was invited to sing in marriages, attempted to rally the Kashmir Valley’s third-gender community to fight for their rights. He had picked the revered shrine of Hazratbal as a forum to unite the transgender community.
He organized a conference on Kashmir’s transgender population a few years ago and pushed them to fight for the group’s rights where issues like the social stigma attached to the transgender population were discussed.
