117) Living with Aids -2

After meeting the doctors at the institute, I asked to meet some volunteers; any first hand experience on the field is much more real than piercing through thousands of reports.

The doctor, Mrs. Vardarajan directed me to meet Pradeep Benerjee in the evening.

The institute was close to my house and after a snack, I drove to the place and saw a large gathering standing in a queue; it was time for medicine disbursal as the man at the counter had to assemble all the drugs from the prescription with an assistant to pack it up and another small boy to get the signatures.

The queue was moving at a snail place and that’s when Pradeep came rushing in to greet me.

“The doc said that you were here in the morning and you were looking for me”.

For an introduction, I gave a brief rundown of my profession and reason for being there.

He said,” I am glad that you are here to understand. We need more people to come forward and know more about this ailment”.

I asked him,” What is the cause of your motivation for HIV?”

Pradeep simply said, “Because I am afflicted”.

There was no tone of regret or humiliation except an air of poignancy.

He broke the silence as he narrated his story:
“At age 11, I found out I was HIV-positive.
Actually, I was initially told I had Aids.
Though it was 1987, I knew what Aids was... a deadly medical condition. The media constantly ran stories on the growing epidemic and even kids like me were scared of it.

I assumed I'd never have to deal with it since I already had a medical condition called haemophilia.

Blood-screening measures to prevent HIV weren't in order until the late 1980s, which is one of the reasons why so many people with haemophilia were infected.

For 10 years I remained silent on the topic of HIV, hoping that if I didn't think about it, that somehow the virus would just die inside me from boredom.

At age 20, I had a sudden revelation that I could help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections by speaking out about HIV/Aids.

That decision ultimately led me to the love of my life, Nandita.
After attending a programme at her women's society in college, Nandita became interested in HIV prevention. She immediately recognised the importance of educating people in sexual health.

For the past five years we've been educating together by being open about our own relationship.

We've been together for seven years and she has remained HIV-negative. It's important for us to show young people who have been desensitised by Aids, that this is preventable and that those who are living with HIV/Aids are just like them”.

I invited the couple to a dinner at my place and I do contribute to their programmes by way of donations and also find myself speaking at Rotary clubs on the subject.