Obituary: Veenadhari loses her battle

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OBITUARY Veenadhari loses her battle DH News Service, Mangalore:

Ms Veenadhari, one of the first HIV victims to openly admit she was

HIV positive and an activist who dedicated her life to create

awareness on HIV/Aids since 1993, finally lost the battle to the

dreaded infection. She died in a private hospital here on Friday. She

was 45.

Born to a middle-class family in Palakkad district of Kerala, Ms

Veenadhari settled in Mangalore after she married. Though she served

as a teacher, she quit her job when was tested positive for HIV,

having contracted the disease from her husband. After recovering from

the initial shock, she joined VALORED, an NGO in Mangalore.

It was at VALORED that she decided to work for HIV victims, and joined

the Karavali Positive Women and Children Network (KPWCN). As she

became popular, tens and hundreds of HIV/Aids victims started

approaching Ms Veenadhari for consultation. At this juncture, she

started organising camps for HIV victims. Victims from all over the

State were attending her camps. Said to be the first of its kind in

the State, the camp " By the HIV victims - for the HIV victims " was

regarded as a ray of hope for a huge number of people.

After Veenadhari made it public that she was a victim of HIV, stories

on her started appearing in print as well as electronic media. Her

inspiring lifestyle (such as developing resistance power in her body

without taking anti-retro viral drugs) inspired a number of people

across the State.

The speciality of the camp was that no person but resource persons and

the participants (the HIV victims) were allowed inside the premises,

which probably made the participants heave a sigh of relief. The `no

entry' to others also made the participants take part in all the

activities freely without any `fear' of others recognising them.

Recognising her work for the victims, Ms Veenadhari was conferred

State Rajyotsava award. She also took part in World HIV victims'

conference in Bangkok two years ago, and later intensified her

campaign for the victims.

Veenadhari is survived by her only son Samarth, who is a well-known

magician.

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