This Singh is not all that Bling: Starting up at 65

You can very call it a rip off of Humans of New York or of Mumbai or which ever part of the world you live in. The fact is that the world around us is filled with incredible people with incredible stories. They are not some special beings with a nimbus on top but everyday people going about their everyday jobs. Meet Mr Singh, a Cab Driver in New Delhi. He picked me from the airport and was polite and courteous. He was using OLA which is quite common these days but what led to the conversation was the fact that he looked quite old to be using an App based service. No offence but he didnot fit the profile of an OLA cab driver incase there was a profile. So as a starter in relation with his age I asked him how long was he driving a cab. “One and half months” came the reply. This intrigued me and then came the story.

Mr Singh is 65 years old , married with 4 kids (2 boys and 2 girls). He had started driving a cab couple of months back at the grand old age of 65. Oddly enough he has never been a driver before. No, he didnt graduate to cab driving after driving some one or some thing else in the past. What he was previously, was a manager cum owner of a 10-15 truck company which he lost a year back due to bad business. His life savings were spent on settling his two sons and marrying off his two daughters. As luck would have it or bad luck, the sons werent supporting him after the loss and well how can you ask the daughters? After facing such a major setback at his age he didnt back down and being a proud man he was, Mr Singh decided to work and not ask. There was a typical outrage amongst his friends (so called) about his going back to a job that too of a cab driver. He wasnt very qualified you see , no degrees and all that. There was pressure from all sides  and yet the pride in him decided his course. By his own admission he has been on the road for past 45-50 days, having a gruelling 10-12 hour shifts. Starting at 8 in the morning till 10 in the night. Its tiresome and not really age appropriate. He said that it was possible only due to his health (god has been kind he said) which atleast was not failing him (unlike his children).

As the ride was coming to an end and when I asked him why his children were not helping him, he replied candidly, that his sons were a reflection of their upbringing and he was saddenned how they had turned out. About his daughters, he said that he has always been giving them something on various ocassions and festivals and it is his last wish that he should never be in a position to ask them ...ever. No bling for this Singh just pride. Hats off ..Carpe Diem

The Venereal Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen is HIV + . Well it’s not really a surprise because he was doing everything for it. Not many are going to admit it but Mr Sheen epitomized the ultimate male dream which was aptly described by Steve Han his former assistant  (decadent life style) on some trashy American website. So when finally in an embodiment of the great reality Television he admitted being HIV+, live in an interview, it was more relief than surprise for lot of people. He of course did admit that he was coming out now because he was being blackmailed to keep it secret and he was loosing some money out of it. It was predictably  followed the usual ‘my chance of celebrity hood’ revelation by an unknown (not now) nurse Amanda Bruce that she had unprotected sex with Mr Sheen because she loved him and didnt care about HIV. It was later clarified that, it was not so lovey dovey and she was on a pill to keep her safe (relatively atleast). Then there was another piece of news about a video, where Mr Sheen was having oral sex with another man. The man had sued him (for an amount running into crores) for giving him Herpes. I wonder if he was rushing to the doctor to take an HIV test as well along with a number of people Charlie would have partnered in the last 4-5 years. I am sure there will also be a number of lawsuits which will follow. The BIG QUESTION however remains whether time has come to have a dialogue about the obligation of the declaration of HIV+ people especially since it involves the safety and health of people around them as well. In cases such as Mr Sheen whom I would personally assess as being in the high risk zone it becomes especially important. While a few may argue that it would lead to discrimination and possibly regressive behaviour, it may still not outweigh the argument of the right to safety of an individual who is operating in close proximity of an HIV+ person. We all know that it has been a fight to end the open and often illogical brandishing of those with HIV but ask that one person who would have contracted the virus because they simply weren’t aware. Will you like to be that guy??

Read this news piece on TOI 01 Dec 15 (World AIDS day..What else?) about a village in Uttar Pradesh (Udaisarai in Fatehpur) where the womenfolk are not sleeping with their husbands who are working in Mumbai after they return incase they don’t take the HIV test. Sensible considering the village was plagued with HIV related deaths recently. Time to rethink about KNOWAIDSTONOAIDS.