For many residents living near VIP Road, Zirakpur, Punjab, a usual way to celebrate the end of the work day is a fiesta at a food truck run by Dhananjay Chauhan (she/her). But, this isn’t the first case of Dhananjay cooking up a storm.
You may recall how in 2016, Panjab University made headlines for becoming one of the first public universities in India to build a separate washroom for trans students on campus. If you’re looking for the source of this revolutionary step, look no further than Dhananjay, who still carries her moniker of being ‘Chandigarh’s first transgender student’ with great pride.
As a conversation with her reveals, right from the onset, Dhananjay has attempted to break glass ceilings whenever she comes across one. And the food truck that she runs from 5 pm to 11 pm every evening is no exception. In the minutes she has to spare between doling out momos, spring rolls, pasta, fried rice, noodles and other delicious fast food to the many patrons who flock to the truck, Dhananjay lets The Better India in on how a trans identity shouldn’t translate to giving up on one’s dreams.
If the food truck could speak, it would have a compelling tale to tell. In June 2021, actor Ayushmann Khurrana who was promoting his film ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ first donated the truck to Dhananjay. However, what was meant as an attempt to help her be financially independent had the opposite effect when local authorities made it difficult for her to run operations.
“I was denied a license and the truck had to be parked in a nearby school for almost a year,” Dhananjay says. But today, things have changed for the better. While she shares that sales are not at an all-time high currently — “The heat is too much and I don’t see many customers” — she maintains that at least she has a business to call her own.
Her story is a testament of reform and promise; it is also a nod to 18-year-old Ishnoor Singh’s efforts to help the trans community regain their footing in the quest for financial independence. His endeavour to help trans persons revive their businesses under the banner of ‘SoulSpectrum’ is a small but significant step in the direction of bringing a radical shift in the way businesses run by trans individuals are perceived.
‘It goes beyond Pride Month’
“Why do trans people have to be on the receiving end of trolls?” Ishnoor wondered as he scrolled through social media during his school break last year. “The negative comments on videos that featured trans people were never-ending,” he points out.
The Class 12 student of Vivek High School, Chandigarh, was baffled by this blind-sided hate. He was even more amused when the rhetoric would witness a flip during Pride Month. And this made him think along the lines of starting an initiative to help trans persons. “I wanted to do something that would make their [trans persons’] struggles an ongoing subject of conversation,” he says.
While Ishnoor hadn’t quite put a finger on a formal model, it was a chance meeting with Dhananjay that gave his vision structure.
As conversation ensued, the latter began to relay the struggle she had to endure to get her food truck up and running. “Dhananjay recounted how the local administrations hadn’t been supportive and getting permissions was a hassle. She was disappointed at how the truck was simply wasting away and not helping her generate income — which was the intention with which it was donated,” Ishnoor explains.
Gathering a couple of his friends, Ishnoor began ideating on the best way to navigate this sticky situation. He approached Hitesh Bharadwaj, PA to the District Commissioner of Chandigarh, who confirmed guiding the students in the matter.
The students, with Bharadwaj’s help, arrived at the solution that if setting up a food truck in Chandigarh was proving to be a hassle because of permissions, they could set their sights on Zirakpur, a 25-minute drive from Chandigarh.
“We spoke to the people from the market association at VIP Road,” Ishnoor notes. “When they demanded rent for Dhananjay to set up the food truck business, we chipped in,” he adds.
Were there hurdles?
“Of course,” he responds. “VIP Road is home to many food trucks, and initially, there was a lot of backlash about having Dhananjay’s truck parked there too. The other food truck owners put on a fuss that their trucks would be concealed by Dhanajay’s. Eventually, we managed to find a spot where Dhananjay could operate without being in the way of the other food trucks. Everyone was happy.”
Currently, the truck is being helmed by Dhanajay along with Rudrapratap Singh (he/him).
Sharing about the experience, Dhananjay says, “We have been at the receiving end of hate so many times. There are taboos around businesses set up by us. In fact, many people boycott our food truck as they think we are ‘dirty’. But Ishnoor and his dad came forward to help; whether it was getting permissions, paying rent, or helping with funds.”
One would wonder where Dhananjay gets her strength from. She says she owes it to her early days and the struggles that have consistently been a part of her journey.
“When I was at Panjab University, I set a precedent by being one of the first trans students to study. While I had to endure a lot, I know my experience has paved the way for other trans individuals who wish to study. The first person always has to bear brickbats. But it is not in vain. Similarly, I know that my food truck venture will pave the way for other trans persons to be inspired to set up their businesses,” she adds.
From one business to many
It was Dhananjay’s success story that compelled Ishnoor to begin thinking along the lines of helping trans persons with reviving/starting businesses. A year after this decision, he and his friends, Ruhaan Sood and Piya Kamal Sodhi, have extended help to 15 trans individuals with dreams.
This help includes providing the respective trans individual with trade credit, access to merchants from whom they can procure the supplies they need, and help with finances. More often than not these trans persons’ struggles at “fitting in” are unintelligible to most people, Ishnoor points out.
“Conversations with them have led me to realise that many of them have been marginalised for so long that they simply do not want to venture into corporate work. So, the only other route would be to run a business by themselves. And this is what I am helping with,” he adds.
He cites trans woman Mona (she/her) as one example of the first tea stall businesses they helped set up. “Her business was up and running before things took a toll for the unexpected and she fell ill. She had to spend all her earnings on her treatment. She did not have any money to continue the business as she wasn’t seeing many customers, and no sales meant she was unable to generate money to buy supplies for the business.”
Ishnoor and his friends stepped in and got Mona access to trade credit. “By this way, she would be able to purchase consumer goods at a credit and make payments for the same later,” Ishnoor explains.
Another instance was Dimple (she/her). Speaking to The Better India, she highlighted how the tea stall that she had been running for five years was failing as she was unable to draw customers. “I live on rent and have to pay my dues on time. It was getting very difficult to continue the tea stall. When Ishnoor and his friends approached me, they asked if I needed help with anything and I told them that I required supplies to start selling tea so I could earn and pay my rent,” she shares.
She adds that Ishnoor helped her with Rs 6,000, which gave her the agency to purchase everything she needed to keep the tea business running. “They even spoke to the supplier and helped me with the materials that I needed. Now, I manage to earn Rs 12,000 a month, which is sufficient. I was always clear about one thing: I would never beg. I would always earn on my own steam,” she says.
However, Dimple’s struggles as a trans woman are not over. “Though I have been here for quite some time, people still continue to look at me strangely and make it difficult for me to run my business. The authorities have been supportive, but people’s mindsets will take time to change,” she remarks.
While on this spree of helping trans persons with their businesses, Ishnoor happened to have a conversation with Kamli Mata, a trans woman who relayed to him the ordeal that access to healthcare is for trans people.
“She told us about how a hospital visit is a daunting task, as most trans people are not comfortable going for health checkups. While they aren’t refused treatment, they find the stares uncomfortable,” he says.
So, on 4 February, 2024, Ishnoor and his friends organised a healthcare camp in Sector 26, Chandigarh, where over 250 trans persons accessed blood workups. “We had partnered with a doctor and a laboratory for this,” he notes.
Witnessing this overwhelming response makes him happy. As for how he envisions SoulSpectrum to go beyond a college passion project, he says, “This is just the beginning of a remarkable journey. I believe we can really touch many lives with this initiative.”
Edited by Pranita Bhat
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