Praveen Nath

Some Lesser Known Facts About Praveen Nath

• Praveen Nath was an Indian trans man bodybuilder. He was the first transgender bodybuilder from Kerala. On 4 May 2023, he committed suicide by allegedly consuming poison.

• In an interview, he revealed that he was in the tenth standard when he first realized a different identity within himself. He added that his family members did not accept his identity at first and took him to some priests and later, they admitted him to a private hospital in Bangalore for three months.

• Later, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree at the NSS College Nemmara, Palakkad, Kerala. While speaking about his college days in an interview, he revealed that during his first year at the NSS College, he hid his identity from everyone and it was during the second year he came out as a trans man. He added that many people avoided him and alleged that the principal of the institution made it impossible for him to continue at the institution and that he was forced to drop out of the course in the second year.

• He was closely attached to his mother and was under the impression that she would accept him once he came out as a trans man; however, his family did not accept his identity and he left his home at the age of 20.

• In an interview, he revealed that he came from a poor family and his father passed away when he was a child. His mother, Valsala, took care of him and his brothers with the meagre amount she received as a daily-wages earner.

  

• Later, he started living with some transgender communities in Kerala and learnt more about his identity. During this time, Sajna Shaji, a trans woman, took care of him.

• In 2018, he tried to enrol for the Bachelor of Arts in English degree at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, Kerala, although, at first his request was denied he was admitted for the course under the special provision implemented by the Government of Kerala for the transgender community; however, he could not complete the degree course, he discontinued his studies after the second year due to financial constraints.

• On 6 November 2019, his brother, Anoop, passed away due to a prolonged illness related to his kidneys; he was under dialysis after both kidneys failed.

• He studied at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, Kerala, for two years between 2018 and 2020. In 2018, he underwent Gender-affirming surgery he felt trapped inside a female body; his mother reconciled with him around the same time and she was present with him during his stay at the hospital for the surgery.

• He started working on fitness and bodybuilding in 2020; he met with Vinu Mohan, who later became his trainer. Vinu persuaded the Thrissur District Bodybuilding Association and the Kerala State Bodybuilding Association to come up with an open category for transgender people (trans men).

  

• In May 2020, he started working at an Akshaya centre in his hometown and briefly worked there.

• Although, initially his family were reluctant to accept his identity, later they reconciled with him and accepted his identity and supported his endeavours.

• In 2021, he started working as a coordinator at the Sahayatrika organization in Kerala and was associated with the organization until his untimely death in 2023.

• As an advocacy coordinator of the Sahayatrika, he organized many awareness classes across Kerala and encouraged people to normalize and accept the trans community.

  

• While speaking about their relationship in an interview, he said that there was a shop named ‘Kanaris’ in Thrissur, Kerala, where he and Rishana used to spend a lot of time together and pointed out that it was a special place for both of them.

• In November 2022, he met with Rishana during the 20th-anniversary celebration (Idam) of ‘Sahayatrika’, an organization for the upliftment of sexual minorities, held in Thrissur, Kerala. Although they had known each other before, it was during the function they met for the first time. He proposed to her on the same day, to which she responded by saying that he would need to get permission from her mother, Annamma, as Rishana got startled by his words. Her mother suggested that they should try to get to know each other before they got into a serious relationship. Later, she said yes to his proposal and they started dating; he shifted from Nemmara, Palakkad, Kerala, to Thrissur, Kerala.

• In an interview, he revealed that it was his idea to get married on the 14th of February. The wedding was sponsored by some benefactors, his family and many people from the transgender community were present at the wedding ceremony. His wife, Rishana, was a model and has won numerous beauty pageants including the Miss Malabar beauty contest.

• On 1 May 2023, he shared a post on Facebook stating that he was getting separated from his wife; however, he deleted the post soon. Later, many online media reported that the couple were getting separated and they were subjected to heavy trolling and received a lot of abuse on social media.

• On 2 May 2023, he shared a post on Facebook that refuted the claims that he was getting separated from his wife and criticised the online media for spreading fake news and insulting their family. Later, in an interview, he confessed that he shared the post claiming that he was getting separated from his wife at a moment when he was emotionally down. He added that the problems they were having were that of any ordinary couple and insisted that they were working to tackle them and said that they were both happy with each other.

  

• On 4 May 2023, he was found after consuming poison at his home. He was soon shifted to the Government Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala; however, the doctors were not able to save his life and his death was confirmed later. Following his death, Rishana shared a live video on Facebook in which she criticised the people who harassed him online and alleged that he took his life without being able to cope with the trauma; she reportedly said that it would be the last time anyone would see her. Later, she tried to commit suicide by consuming poison and was taken to the Government Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala, and the doctors were able to save her life.

• His brother, Pushpan, alleged Rishana was physically assaulting his brother and intimidated him to remove the divorce post he shared on Facebook. Pushpan alleged that there were multiple marks on his brother’s body which could be caused by physical assault and stated that their family would legally move against Rishana.