 |
| P.C: Google |
“Hey! You shouldn’t share cloths, towel, shaver,
plates, toilet and all those stuffs that I use and belongs to me” the
heartbreaking remarks outbreaks like a bird flu epidemic. “Don’t worry, I
won’t” nods his egg-shaped head flippantly against the will of his heart, owing
to the fact that he knows everything about the ailment.
Wangchen isn’t the man of his name. A man with head
rose above all, commanding, dominant and filled with pride and joy of his life
is what his birth text suggests. Ever since he was detected as HIV positive
patient, his life became the days’ nightmares. “The living hell” he would
define the earth as and when the question of world’s definition hits on his
brain.
“Wangchen, you……” stammers and with his eye balls glistened with water
continues “your result says you have HIV positive”. With his mouth wide opened,
laughs and exclaim “Ah! Your daughter too is humorous as you Doctor”. “There is no doubt your Yangchen is the
Xerox copy of you” he creates the air of humor which diffuse in the small
compact room deodorizing the scent of paracetamol and alleviate the Doctor to speak
the truth.
“My boy, I am speaking the truth. The result shows
that you got the disease two years ago”; “take it easy, you don’t have to fear.
Unlike past years, with timely treatment and medicines you can live as long as
others do”. “What? How can it be possible? Am I having a nightmare or is it
true?” he hits his head against the wall, bang the table and cries while the
blood profusely ooze out from his forehead mingling with the flood from his
eyes. Dr.Karma on other hand helplessly downpour the rain of agony and cleans
Wangchen’s bloody face with sterilized cotton.
“I will keep it confidential, trust me. I will help
you don’t worry my boy” pats his shrunken shoulder as he gets up to leave the
compartment. With heavy heart he looks at the grief struck, horrorstruck and a
speechless boy heading towards his hostel where his friends awaits there to
howl at this new jackal.
Pelzang is his brother and his childhood friend.
They are bed mates and class mates too. “Hey, dude, what’s up? What took you so
long?”. “Here is your lunch; captain nearly bashed me up thinking that I am
taking the second share” a round shaped Pelzang frowns as he keeps the half
plated cheap rice crowned with few unpeeled potato curry. “You shouldn’t have
taken so much trouble, I don’t feel like to take meals nowadays” comes a
chocking voice amidst the thin quilt. “Why are you crying? What’s wrong with
you? Did anyone bully you? Who is that scoundrel? Tell me” an aggressive
brother really sounds defensive. “No, it’s nothing like that. I am just missing
our poor parents”. “Hey, we are studying for their welfare. Don’t feel lonely.
We will soon be meeting them, for now take lunch. You are making me sad too”
changes his tone as he tries to complete a sentence.
That night he racks his brain so hard trying to
remember the cause of the disease. It was twelve pass twenty and when he was
about to lost into his dream he remembers two years ago shaving his head in one
of the salons in nearby boarder town with the same blade used by a man before
him. Then he cries mutely repenting the grave mistake. Then he silently wakes
his brother up knowing the fact that silent isn’t the solution. “Pelzang get up
please, I have something to tell you”, “why are you awake at this ghostly hour?
What’s the matter?” when he shares the things in detail, he gaped and states
“are you serious?” “Yes, I’m telling the truth. Please promise me you will keep
it confidential”.
A brother whom he trusts turns to an active media,
transparent enough to spill the beans. “Wangchen, how dare you use my shoe brush?
It is for the third time I am cautioning you. I don’t want your deadly disease
to be transmitted to me” threatening caution stabbing his heart like a sharp
dagger. Forget about school premises, the bungalows all around scorched with
the news. “Mom, he is the one I was talking about” a little girl about nine
years old points towards him familiarizing to her mother. “Isn’t? He looks strange.
My girl, when in school don’t go nearby him okay”. He found no ways to hide but to cry himself emotively
every now and then.
Ostracized by friends, abandoned by his loved ones, denigrated
by well educated teachers, living in the world filled with ostracism and
disparagement was something not worth living. Being the eldest of his family,
ending his life wasn’t the best solution where he attempted to suicide many
times. “You have brought disgrace to
our family, now nobody would dare to help us. If this is the case in elder
brother, what about your siblings?” his father kicked him nearly breaking his
mid ribs. “Why didn’t you jumped off the cliff if you were to come home with
such disease. I feel guilty to claim you as my son” mother in her sixties adds
fuel on the flame. Silent Pemaling growls over the issue that become the very
subject of every natter and chatter.
He became the object of criticism and humiliation
within and outside the village. Even the teeth less grand folks advises their
grandchildren “today instead of a story I would advise you not to talk with
brother Wangchen” sounds like he has mastered in such disease to which the high
standing cliff echoes with the unanimous respond “laso agay”.
A month later he went to the hospital after a
weeklong sickness crawling himself through uneven route which took him exactly
a day to reach there. “Wangchen, I’m sorry to inform you that you have got
heart disease” once again he was numbed to death. Doctor told him to be stress
free, always be happy and to avoid heavy works which he has never been before.
He thanks Doctor with a beautiful smile bidding farewell unheard and moves back
towards his village where people might be celebrating his absence.
Only after a couple of weeks had his parents
realized that he had not returned home after visiting hospital. They divided
into groups and started searching him, but to no avail even after stepping into
every nook and corner of the village. “Uncle Dorji! Isn’t it Wangchen’s shirt?”
shouts at the top of his voice picking the wet shirt and showing it to Dorji.
“Yes exactly! It is his tunic” he carefully examines and looks for the sign of
him being here. As he cries and picks the shirt he came across a chit in which
a long letter was written, it reads:
“Dear parents,
I
apologize two of you for bringing disgrace and dishonor into our family. Though
I was born nineteen years ago bringing smiles and happiness to two of you, but
I blame myself for landing up becoming the disgusting object in the society.
Thank you for all your attempts to make me a better being in the society. Take
good care of my siblings and I assure you that they are going to fulfill your
dreams.
Even
though I got such a dreadful disease, I was determined and potent to live till
my death drags me, but I realized that I am just going to be an object of your
disgrace as I was already to the society. I didn’t find my life worth living,
so I got nerves to sleep forever jumping off the cliff never to be found again.
Please don’t waste your time and resource looking for my dead body and needn’t
do any offerings for my wellbeing. What you did for me when I was alive is more
than enough.
I
was certain of my death one day or other. In this life I die not because of the
disease, but due to the social stigma which was more painful than the HIV/Aids
and the heart disease. I am leaving this living hell with the lesson, no worldly disease is as dreadful
as the social stigma. Social stigma is the malady rooted deep in the hearts of
every individual. Uproot it as fast as you can before it kills others”.
No comments:
Post a Comment