Dolly Mai

The Person Behind Shree Devasthanam

Dolly Mai by birth belonged to well-to-do family. As eunuch, she was always treated as a persona non grata.  She faced many challenges within the family.

She came under the tutelage of her guru Geeta Haji, a motherly figure for her. Geeta’s guidance helped Dolly to develop vision and understanding of her own existence.

The abuse and insult hurled on her and other community members, compelled her to look for a logic, “why eunuchs are treated in an offensive manner?” The challenge was how to proceed to solve prejudiced attitude of the society?

Shree Venkatesh Devasthanam | Najafgarh
Dolly Mai

She discussed dream idea among her associates to build a magnificent temple of Lord Vishnu temple in the form of Venkatesh. The deity who in Kalyug (a period according to mythology) appeared on earth to emancipate humankind from trials and tribulations from the materialistic world.

Let the “God of Liberation” liberate the humanity from the prejudice against the side-lined gender.  She successfully convinced and gathered  support from her community for constructing the  Balaji Devasthanam.  Radha Maa, Meera Guru, Ramya, Pooja Maa, Kala, Kajri, Sita, Seema, Julie, Gudiya, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Pinki Maa and her samaj appreciated her efforts and with stood with her in the divine cause.

Dolly Mai has accepted INR 1.00 as a token from the patrons who do not belong to her society.

The temple apart being used for religious purposes also serves a social purpose. It supports and helps all those who are in distress or in need.