Chandhini
Chandini was born as Mallikarjuna Swamy, the only son of agriculturists Mahadevappa and Mahadevamma As a child, she felt deeply that she was a woman in a man’s body At 18, she left home and transitioned at 20, embracing her identity as Chandini
She lived with the Hijra community for a decade and joined the 2002 HijraHabba in Bengaluru, which led her to activism Chandini began working with Sangama, providing support and counseling for sexual minorities, eventually rising to the position of Program Manager
In 2009, she co-founded Payana, a community organization for people with alternative sexuality, and supported Sarathya, a federation across 21 districts She later became one of the first trans women in India to be hired by a mainstream company (Context India), working with auto drivers
An influential LGBT rights advocate, Chandini has trained communities on gender, sexuality, HIV prevention, and human rights She’s shared her work internationally in Sri Lanka, Kenya, South Africa, and at a U S event by the National Institute of Health in 2016
Chandini is:
President of Payana since 2016
Project lead for American Jewish World Services
Employee at Three Wheels United
Adoptive mother to a 14-year-old girl
A published Kannada poet (Manda Kannu), with two poems in Kuvempu University curriculum
Winner of Nelathayi 2014 and Best Writer 2016 awards
A documentary filmmaker, now entering mainstream Kannada cinema as actor and assistant director
Chandini is a powerful symbol of resilience, art, and activism—shaping change across communities and countries
