madurai after a well fought legal battle arun kumar and sreeja of tuticorin on monday became the first mantranswoman couple in tamil nadu to have their marriage registered i am very happy i am planning to undergo surgery so that i can give birth to a child an overjoyed sreeja saidthough the pair got married on october 31 last year it was on monday that sreejas relatives and aruns friends organised a surprise reception for the couple as they returned home after registering their marriage for them only today we are legally married sreeja said expressing regret that aruns family is yet to accept their marriage more than 50 relatives and friends took part in the receptionthe course of love had never been smooth for this couple who met in november 2016 a couple of months after sreeja underwent the transformation surgery they had to face hurdles all along arun said they would not have been successful without the support of advocate rajendran who initially helped them he also thanked their counsel krishnaveni who fought the legal battle before the high court and justice g r swaminathan who directed that they be allowed to register the marriageterming the legal victory on april 22 the happiest day of their lives sreeja said monday was all the more special as they got the marriage registered this will set an example that marriage between a man and a transwoman has to be legally registered and they can happily live ever after like any other couple she saidfor sreeja the battle began much earlier when he was in high school the first hurdle was convincing his mother a single parent about her transformation with the support of his mother and younger brother he underwent the transformation surgery sreeja met arun through a mutual friend you look beautiful were the words he first uttered and they fell in lovethough her mother stood by her when she got married aruns parents had distanced themselves from the coupleelated couple set eyes on having a childthere was high drama when they got married on october 31 last year moments before the ceremony the priest of the temple maintained by the hrce department refused to conduct the marriage citing sreejas gendera transgender serving as a priest then recited mantras for the marriage this was just the beginning of their battle the registration department refused to record their marriage as there was no column for transgender on application forms the young couple ran from pillar to post and wrote to the collector top officials in the registration department and to the secretariat too but in vainit was then that they got legal guidance and approached the court in january 2019 we did not know anyone but expected a earning favourable verdictin a yearbut we got it in less than three months exclaimed sreeja she pledged her gold chain for 19000 to meet the travel and basic legal expensesthere are many instances in which men promise to marry