Dear Editor,
Vidyaratha Kissoon wrote about the term ‘napumsak’ in a letter to the newspapers (‘Minister Rohee made no reference to homophobic lyrics’ SN, 1.5.08).  He was referring to a declaration by Sri Rama describing how dear His Devotees are to Him.  The Blessed Lord said: “be it man, woman or one lacking the characteristic of both, or for the matter of  that, any living being whatsoever, of the animate or the inanimate world, he who adores Me with all his being, giving up all guile is supremely dear to Me.”

Napumsak means one who does not have the characteristics of either man or woman. A gay person is often referred to as a man trapped in a woman’s body or a woman trapped in a man’s body. Either way – it is a person who has both male and female characteristics – not lacking in either – Napumsak……