Guest guest Posted September 16, 2006 Report Share Posted September 16, 2006 Partners contract AIDS for love's sake Buckwalter [16 Sep, 2006 0128hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ] MUMBAI: For some of those who are afflicted by love, AIDS is not scary enough. A disturbing trend seems to be emerging among young Indians in gay or heterosexual relationships, who are willing to deliberately contract AIDS to show solidarity with their HIV- positive lovers. Taranjeet Patel didn't know he would be making that type of commitment when he met Kunal Shah. That was three years ago. Both were in their mid-20s. They were employees at a Mumbai call centre when they became involved in a gay relationship. During their courtship days, they used to meet in restaurants and theatres in the guise of boyish outings. No one ever caught them holding hands, or nuzzling each other in stolen moments. But there was something that stood in the way of a complete physical relationship, a secret that Shah had been harboring the entire time. He was HIV-positive. Patel had begun to question Shah about their level of intimacy. He had reached the point within himself where he was finally ready to take it to the next level, but Shah never let it get that far. Patel began to feel something was wrong until the truth about Shah's positive status came out. " It was at that point that Patel's respect and love for Shah soared through the roof. He just couldn't believe that Shah had not succumbed to the temptation, and spared him the disease. He really thought that this was the epitome of a selfless act of love,'' says Murugesan Sivasubramanian, ex-counsellor of The Humsafar Trust. Consumed by love and grief, Patel decided to contract AIDS. If not life, he wanted to share death. " I did everything I could to convince him that he would be a better partner to Kunal if he stayed healthy to care for Kunal when he got sick, but he wouldn't listen,'' Sivasubramanian says. " I tried telling him that in reality it would be a selfish act to get infected because Kunal would end up having to take care of him. I asked him, `What if you're the first one to die, before Kunal?' but nothing seemed to work.''... After many months of not seeing Patel, Sivasubramanian finally ran into the boy after months at the support group for HIV-positive people. The ex-counsellor knew what had happened. They exchanged burdened small talk and heavy glances, but no mention was made of the situation. Patel's clock had begun ticking and both could hear it loudly. In the case of Anisha Konit, 18, she told Hemangi M, a counsellor with Sion Hospital and the Humsafar Trust that she was willing to be infected with the HIV disease her husband Rahul had contracted after he had cheated on her. After he had tested positive, Hemangi had convinced him to share the news with his wife. Konit then got herself tested, along with their daughter and discovered that both were negative. " I wouldn't have minded getting infected. He's my husband and ours is a love marriage. Even though all of this happened, I wouldn't have divorced him,'' Konit told Hemangi, according to the counsellor's recounting of the incident. Konit finally decided not to deliberately contrive the disease because she had to take care of her daughter. Infidelity was also the source of HIV for Anupam Pandey, says Hemangi, speaking about another love-lost couple she had counselled. After being together with his boyfriend Vinod Das for a year, Pandey got infected through another affair. When he learnt that he had HIV, Pandey cut off all physical intimacy with Das who was frantic to find out what was really going on. Threatening suicide if Pandey didn't disclose the reasoning behind his peculiar actions, he finally came clean and exposed he was positive. Das didn't want to know how, as another blow would have been too much for him, Hemangi said. Despite the risks involved, they continue their physical relationship, albeit with the protection of condoms. Das' current status is unknown, but it was never the killer virus that worried him anyways. As long as there are no secrets in their bedroom, he is just fine with everything. (Names have been changed on request) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1996376,curpg- 2.cms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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