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All my memories of India are full of noise. When my parents first moved to America, the thing that amazed them the most was the silence. The streets in India are never as empty as they are in a New Jersey suburb. Roads are always full of people: vendors selling products that range from earrings to lemonade to honey, kids that refuse to play anywhere but the street, animals of every variety and neighbors who mind everybody’s business but their own.
In short, every corner, every part of India is crowded and the crowd likes to make noise. However, all the noise and the chatter is exactly that simple background blare, since the noise never actually turns into discourse. The crowd never discusses any controversial issues; nobody ever brings up issues such as crimes, drugs, or teenage pregnancies. Conflicts stay hidden, forever lurking in the background, obvious for all to see, but never actually surfacing in an evening discussion.
Hence, I did not learn about AIDS from the nosy neighbors, it never came up in a dinner conversation, and the teachers never felt it necessary to discuss one of the fastest growing diseases in the country. In fact, my very first encounter with AIDS was when I was ten years old, through a TV commercial sponsored by the government. The commercial featured a hospital room, a girl about my age, a few nurses, and Shabana Azmi, an actress and an activist. I do not remember the colors of the walls, or if the room was a private room or a common one with many extra beds. All I remember is the occupant, a girl who looked like all the girls in my class, but for some reason was alone, unhappy, and afraid. Once again I do not remember how many nurses there were, but they all stood outside, pointing and looking at the girl, but never entering the room. Suddenly gliding through came the beautiful Shabana Azmi. She walked with confidence and gave a disapproving look to the nurses who quickly looked away, clearly ashamed of their behavior. Shabana boldly entered the room, and soothed the girl by hugging and rocking her. Soon, both the captivating actress and the scared child supported smiles. Finally, Shabana Azmi spoke, first in Hindi and then once again in English, “She does not need your rejection, she needs your love”. The message being that AIDS is not transmitted through touching or breathing the same air as an infected person.
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