Sharda Jadhav (33), hardly expected to find a life partner, because she was HIV positive. It took a special wedding mela in Kurla- one exclusive to HIV-positive people- to put her in touch with Ashok Jadhav (37) last year. The two wed in October this year.
Sharda had contracted the virus from her previous husband, seven years ago. "It was a never-ending ordeal for me to stay with my torturing husband and in-laws. I was beaten and abused by them everyday. I managed to escape from the house and was found in a distraught state near Nair Hospital by some NGO workers," Sharda said.
Sharda left her baby daughter behind in her husband's house in Mankhurd. "My daughter was just three, when I escaped from that hellhole. My in-laws have now admitted my daughter Rani to a hostel in Goa. They have forbidden me to meet her," she said. Sharda was taken in by an NGO which enrolled her in a job.
Sharda worked for almost five years in a packaging unit in the city.
Her colleagues suggested that she attend a marriage mela in Kurla organized by the Network by People living with HIV in Mumbai (NPM+) last year. Sharda met Ashok in the gathering. Ashok, who had contracted HIV after a faulty blood transfusion in 1982, also worked as a community social worker at NPM+. The romance between the two bloomed between hospital visits and community intervention projects. "We gradually got along. Sharda used to come visit me at the JJ Hospital where I was working in the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) administration programme. We used to go on dates to a nearby restaurant, have tea and get to know each other better," said Ashok.
Sharda got along well with Ashok. "While Ashok wanted a homemaker wife, I too preferred to not to work after marriage," Sharda said.
Last year's wedding mela saw 84 men and 45 women gathered to find their soul mate. Ten couples who met at the mela have got married, said Amol Devre, head of NPM+.
This year too, like the last three years, NPM+ will organize a wedding mela in Kurla on December 13.
"Each person is given a batch number and an opportunity to say a few words about themselves. Later, they are given a chance to express interest in meeting any three persons from the opposite sex. Every meeting was later coordinated by our volunteers," said Anita Waigankar, general secretary, NPM+.
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