2 couples who met at marriage conference organised for people living with HIV to get married today; nine more plan to wed soon
2 couples who met at marriage conference organised for people living with HIV to get married today; nine more plan to wed soon
People living with HIV/AIDS are fighting the stigma in an innovative way. At least two couples plan to get married today, on Valentine's Day, notwithstanding, their condition. One couple already got married at Nivara Vrudhashram in Navi Peth on Saturday. The other rituals associated with the marriage will take place today in Solapur.
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| Coming together: Social activists with a newly married couple living with HIV (faces blurred to protect privacy).
PIC/ VIVEK SABNIS |
Nine other couples have come forward and confirmed marriage plans at a conference held exclusively for HIV positive people in the city.
The state-level marriage conference was organised by the Rotary Club of Pune West and Pune Dhayari with Manavya and Akshada Vivah Mandal for people living with HIV/AIDS. This was the second marriage conference in which 145 HIV positive people participated and they had came from Solapur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai and Junnar, said Ujjwala Lavate, executive trustee, Manavya, working with HIV people.
Vilas (26), a salesman, working at a cloth store in Hubli, Karnataka got married to a divorcee Shamal (23) from a village in Osmanabad on Saturday. They met each other at 12 noon and finalised their decision by 2.30 pm.
The actual marriage took place at Nivara Vrudhashram by 3.30 pm. "We both wish the marriage had taken place on Valentine's Day but any way it is close to it and we are happy," Vilas said.
Vilas said the decision to get married was impulsive, as he was supposed to go to Shirdi with his brother and sister-in-law after the conference. "I have not yet told my parents about this marriage," he said. He is sure they will support him, even though they were not present at the wedding. "The other religious rituals will take place in Solapur on Valentine's Day," Vilas said.
Shamal was excited and happy about her second marriage. She had also got her divorce documents.
Shamal has been on anti-retroviral therapy for a year-and-half, while Vilas has been on it for two years. "We both want to live and enjoy life like a normal couple," Shamal said.
Another HIV positive couple, Pravin (29) and Swapnau00a0 (24), both from Solapur, is also excited about getting married on Valentine's Day. Pravin is working as a security guard at an ATM.
Swapna, who works with a local network group that helps HIV positive people, said: "I want to become a mother and have a normal child. We both want to live and see the marriage of our child," she said excitedly.
