Have you called 'Bula Di' ?

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

For the first time probably one sees a woman and that too a middle calss Bengali

housewife on move on her battle against HIV/AIDS.

Directed to the average middle class households particularly women the Bula Di

campaign does get you thinking about howcome the vulnerability of housewives

was yet a neglected dimension for HIV/AIDS sphere ofcourse when i say this i

refer to beyond book actions.

Probably this is the reason why Bula Di has become so very popular in the

households of Bengal yet let us wait for soem kind of an impact assessment study

to substantiate what I am saying before I ask you to agree by what I say.

Check out this very interesting artcle on Bula Di which came up in telegraph a

couple of days back. The reporter has been able to bring out the essence of the

character in his article.

Would love to get the feedback from other firends who may have seen or heard of

the campaign.

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Doll’s house: Sage counsel from a member of the family. Photo: Subhendu Chaki

Name: Bula-di (no middle name, no surname — just Bula-di)

Age: 30-something, just guessing, Sex: Female

Occupation: Counsellor for HIV/AIDS-related enquiries. Call 1097 to speak to her

directly.

With her area of operation being a state where 6,941 HIV-positive cases have

been registered to date, Bula-di sure has her hands full. For apart from those

taken by the virus, there are millions across the length and breadth of West

Bengal who want to know what the fuss is all about and if it isn’t too late to

ask. The questions are plenty; the answers insufficient. And misconceptions

never did anyone any good.

That’s where Bula-di steps in. Dressed in a natty sari with that ubiquitous

handbag slung over her shoulder, she peeps out of hoardings — alongside sundry

models sporting everything from branded garments and fashion accessories — at

every major city crossing. You catch a glimpse of her on TV or at the bus-stop,

asking a middle-aged housewife to go in for an HIV test despite having just one

sexual partner. She is pleasant, friendly and approachable, she speaks three

languages, and her audience — in most cases — is composed of women.

In reality, however, Bula-di doesn’t exist. She is but an animated

representation of a doll, the kind fashioned through ages by local Bengali

craftsmen. Given form and shape by a six-member creative team of Ogilvy &

Mather, she is the face of the statewide drive towards HIV/AIDS awareness which

— beginning with the World AIDS Day earlier this month — has taken on the theme

‘Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS’.

“The very fact that Bula-di is not a living entity is what makes her so

universal,” explains Jayatsen Bhattacharya of Ogilvy & Mather. Hence, she is

perceived as an archetypal social worker, of indeterminate age and unflustered

temperament. She has the ability to switch roles, playing mother, aunt or sister

as the situation demands. She is practical, composed, and goes about

myth-busting with a smile. And above everything else, she guarantees a sense of

empathy and concern, just like the women in any family.

In her own way, Bula-di also symbolises female emancipation and woman power —

she is a woman working primarily for the cause of women. She also epitomises the

advisory role of women in society, having a say in social and health-related

issues and sharing her experience with anyone in desperate need of it. If there

is anyone as worldly-wise as good old Mashima, it has to be her.

“Bula-di could well be the result of rethinking communication strategies,”

opines Rajashri Dasgupta, a journalist. “In their earlier years, campaigns

against HIV/ AIDS have always triggered fear,” she says, referring to the murky

communiqué featuring the odd skull routinely used in the past. “The stigma

associated with such messages only helped in taking the campaigns underground.

What was needed was a more reassuring platform where people could come out with

their questions without a shade of fear.”

The only solution to such a crisis was “to devise a mnemonic which the target

audience (the low-risk group, in this case), could identify with,” says Menka

Jha, NGO director of the West Bengal State AIDS Prevention and Control Society

(WBSAPCS). “Bula-di fills the void, and helps us take our message to the masses

rather than have them come to us in stealth.”

And as for the mnemonic being a woman, the figures say it all. Women comprise

about half of all people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Women aged 15 to 24

are 2.5 times more likely to be infected than their male counterparts. The

National Family Health Survey Round II (1992-93) indicates that 62 per cent of

rural and 42 per cent of urban women have little knowledge of the virus. About

61 per cent of all women infected in West Bengal are married, a stark reminder

that sticking to a single sexual partner may not be so safe after all.

In order to specifically address the women in our society, it was imperative to

have a woman as our brand ambassador,” explains Monideepa Mukhopadhyay, deputy

director (information, education and communication), WBSAPCS. “Bula-di doesn’t

condescend to address her audience. She doesn’t preach, either. She is not alien

to the masses, but is essentially one of them, and there’s a human touch to

whatever she says or does. That’s what really helps to relate to the audience.”

What also helps is her being created on the lines of a doll, asserts

Bhattacharya. Known to embody charm and good nature, dolls have been one of the

most popular handicrafts in West Bengal through centuries. They are a part of

every girl child’s treasure trove in households big or small, urban or rural.

“Bula-di thus comes across as an indigenous voice that can be instantly

understood,” he says.

Which leaves us with one question: who answers the phone when you dial 1097? On

one occasion, it happened to be a man (ahem!) presumably in his late 30s. People

have been calling up of late wishing to speak to Bula-di, he confirmed. Apart

from the gender mismatch, though, there was little to take exception to. One

only hopes he will pull it off. Just like Bula-di.

www.telegraphindia.com/1041221/ asp/atleisure/story_4152103.asp - 25k

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Thanks

Dr. Arunanshu Talukder.

Calcutta National Medical College.

E-mail: <arka_talukdar@...>