And the hijras snap their sacred marriage threads and don the white clothes of widows.

BBC: Indian eunuchs' day in the sun

And there ends, for another year, the brief escape from reality, the hijras' day in the sun.

BBC: Indian eunuchs' day in the sun

Famila already works as a rights lobbyist and says more and more hijras are taking on these leadership roles.

BBC: Indian eunuchs' day in the sun

"Hijras include men who go in for hormonal treatment, those who undergo sex-change operations and those who are born as hermaphrodites, " Bhan writes.

CNN: In the Field

But on the last day at Koovagam, the morning after the wedding revelry, the ceremony does seem to reflect the sadness of many hijras.

BBC: Indian eunuchs' day in the sun

The parade was lent a uniquely Indian flavour by flamboyant cross-dressing hijras, known as eunuchs, although many modern hijras are gay men who feel alienated by mainstream society.

ECONOMIST: Where Victorian values and repressive laws still hold

In perfect English, she told me that although she's a feminist and doesn't believe in beauty pageants, she'll use it as a platform to talk about hijras' rights.

BBC: Indian eunuchs' day in the sun

But increasingly, hijras are defying the stereotype.

BBC: Indian eunuchs' day in the sun

Hijras are another sub-set of gay life.

CNN: In the Field