Comic AIDS the semi-literate

 

NEW DELHI: Khoon ka khatra; Pyaar ke packet; Josh mein hosh; Savdhaan senior. Sounds like a series of B-grade movies, but these are the titles of new comics hitting the block. But what’s special about these comics is that they deal with HIV and AIDS.

 

Even more interesting is the fact that these comics are based on real stories shared by young men from slums, streets, platforms and teashops across Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

 

The idea is to get as many people to get information about HIV and AIDS and since comics are the easiest to read, it is easy to spread the message. Vijaya Nidadavolu, who is the director of this project called ‘Voices from the Street’ says, “This is the best way to translate research into interesting media. We tried the same thing in Mumbai during the ‘yaari-dosti’ project where we used comics in the form of pamphlets. It was a huge success and we grew the idea from there.”

 

About 60,000 copies are being distributed in all the four states.

 

“About one fifth of the population is in the 15-24 age group, thereby making comics the easiest way of getting information without being drab,” says Vijaya.

 

She says comics are a visual medium, which can be understood by the semi literate. Also in a peer group even if one person reads it, he can spread the message. All four cities have different groups supporting this initiative.