Kill Aids with positive attitude

For a society that derives perverse thrill from stigmatising the victims of Aids, the story of a young girl's unconquerable will to live despite being diagnosed HIV positive should come as an eye-opener.

If anyone thought that Aids patients are condemned to die, they should see From Tiya with Love - the documentary film directed by Mahen Sisodiya, which was screened at The American Centre here on Thursday evening.

The message is one of invincible optimism in the face of death: if one has a hunger for life and has an attitude to match one can overcome anything, including the seemingly incurable Aids. According to UNAIDS India, 5.1 million Indians suffer from Aids.

This celebration of life mocks popular prejudices and pettiness that connive to make the life of an Aids patient a living hell.

The film movingly dramatises the plight of parents who are driven to distraction and eventually to death by the scandalous discovery that their daughter is HIV positive since her birth. This sparks off bouts of remorse and lacerating soul-searching. Finally, Tiya's father traces the killer virus to the careless use of syringes while using intravenous drugs in his youthful days. Tiya, of course, has to pay heavily for the indiscretions of her parents.