NOMADS HOME

last week i had the chance of attendin a workshop on HIV-AIDS.I was reluctant to attend the seminar for few reasons...firstly, i hate to sit at a place and pretend to listen and and look interested of the ongoing verbal diarrhea of the speaker.the other reason being its a seminar on something which i thought i knew more than what was necessary!yet,i attended.again, i had couple of reasons for attendin it.firstly,it was for five days and i was given paid leave to attend it.secondly, the organisers of the seminar offered full course of meal with multiple desserts to choose from...it was too yummy to resist.but the icing on the cake was that i was even paid to attend the five day seminar!whoa,i would look like a looney if i refuse the offer,i thought.despite hating the very fact that i will be feeling claustrophobic again in the intellectual walls of a class room,i attended.the delegates were around 40 somethin in number...most of them in their late thirties...phew,now that made the matters worse.one top of it i was one among the three men who attended!i couldn't have scripted a worse nightmare than this!i thought five days are gonna be like a journey to hell and back...i seriously doubted that coming back part though!
the schedule looked packed with few minutes of breather in between...the trainers as they were called looked straight from the ram gopal varma flick...seriosly constipated with absolutely zilch sense of humor.i was spooked to the spine.but then, the seminars first day was started by some visually serene and tranquilizing prayer songs...that certainly soothed my ever complaining,never satisfied mind.i began to sense that this was gonna be a rejuvenating experience.the organizers had planned the schedule to accommodate the updated versions of the hiv-aids status particularly keeping india in mind.the information was more reassuring...hiv aids has always been associated with the dastardly stigma attached to it.its no strange fact that in india most,if not all the hiv-aids related patients die due to the constant stigma,discrimination and ostracizing than the actual pathological causes.its really heartening ti see that certain sections of the society accepting PLWHA (PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV-AIDS) than ever before.there seems to be an upward thrust in the knowledge consensus of the indians,especially rural folks regarding hiv and its spread.the same people who were pathetically ignorant of the menace of hiv and who were naive enough to accept hiv as just another disease are increasingly aware of the sinister complications.thanks to the govt. of india's wide spread campaigning aiming rural india especially the truck drivers and their potential infective source commercial sex workers.introduction of free condom sachets in every public place such as bus stands,railway stations etc have had its fine share of success by increasing the curiosity of the onlookers which in turn propels them to spread the awareness.its always easy to blame the govt.for all the hooplas happenin around us.its really praise worthy to see the collective effort to govt. of particular states,the hospital faculty and not to forget the guardian angels,the NGO's who have unselfishly committed their time and resources in making india hiv-aids aware nation which eventually helps in curbing the menace of aids completely.the day is not far...but it needs effort and perseverance.

while all these informations were being provided to us,i couldn't help but think,how can i contribute to the ongoing campaign.i was one among the scores of hypocrites who spoke a lot about how they care for PLWHA's but when it comes to encountering them personally, made reasons to evade.i should confess how biased and cynical i was to hiv -aids victims.i joined the nay sayers in ostracizing them...by blaming them for their ominous misery and stigmatizing them for their plight.how wrong was i? let alone,helping them...i was being indifferent to them...forgetting the very oath i took few years back when i joined para medical course!i wondered how a simple intiative by a collective enterprise can change the whole mindset of ignorant and the so-called -educated class alike!by the last day of the seminar i was craving for more info.the 30 plus crowd had bonded well and was resolute in initiating the spark in their respective hospitals.

what makes the initially thought so-darn-boring experience a memorable one is the testimony of a vivacious hiv-aids lady who by her never say die attitude had fought against all the odds of the dastardly community...who was completely cheated by certain people by getting her married to an already hiv infected man.her sheer courage,grit and determination was contagious.once she found out that her husband was hiv positive she was naturally heartbroken and hopeless.she began to slip into the abyss of depression and suicidal tendency.but then,the greatest decisions of our lives are made and broken in split seconds...same happened with this particular woman as well.she had made a decision in one of those significant moments of her life that she would survive...against all odds,no matter what.a village lady who had never seen the door of a college,with hiv infection and a cowardly society with venomous fangs ready to strike with lethality of stigma fought a battle so inspiring that it moved a large section of the crowd to tears and awe. she deserved the respect of a person with absolute determination...she got it,if not easily but eventually!after her testimonial i shook her hands(this time with respect for the person and not the usual insecurity).she was as normal as any healthy lady of her age.she showed no physical signs of illness.especially she showed no emotional signs which is always attached to PLWHA'S.i was fortunate to meet such a resolute person in a place like India which always just needs an excuse to put a person down...which is still stuck in the age gone by...which still believes in honor killing.which takes pride in domestic abuse and woman slavery.what a striking contrast to the present day scenario...

i left the seminar with a responsibility at hand and questions in my mind.if one person can create such an impact on the society by changing its view point and opinions.why are we not joining hands in such cause?
if it takes a group of selfless people who believe they can change the outlook of the people by forming a non-profitable sectors called NGO's.why are we not endorsing and encouraging them?
if it takes a government to come up with an extensive initiative to combine all the social stratas and health teams to curb the menace of hiv-aids...why are we still complaining?
i dont want these questions to haunt me now and then...get me sleepless nights.make me feel guilty and useless.
i dont want these questions to ever come back to me again.
there are only two ways i can achieve that...by being the same old indifferent individual who seems like he cares a lot but does nothing but stay hypocrite.
or
by shrugging off the pseudo societal values and joining hands...yes, as simple as that.
i decided to join hands...and it takes many hands to form a human chain and create a human change.what say?