AIDS wracks her body, but the spirit lives on

BANGALORE: One cannot defy death. But that shouldn''t snuff out the fight. That''s the lesson little Anu (whom Times of India readers where introduced to as Chitra almost a year ago) would like others to learn, as she gasps for those last few ounces of oxygen. Before passing into a coma she requested her family (friends at Freedom Foundation) to thank all those who had helped her see a few more dreams than fate had shortlisted for her.Chitra - or Anu, as she would like to be known - had been written about in these columns when Freedom Foundation volunteers were running around to collect funds to put her on anti-retroviral therapy. She had tested HIV-positive a few months prior to that. TOI readers poured their hearts out and contributed. She responded well and even began schooling. But, ten days ago, the virus began to take its toll. Even as Anu flitted between phases of passing out and regaining consciousness the eight-year-old was making her assertive choices known to caretakers at Freedom Foundation. Among them was a plea to reduce pain. One of the last requests she made: "Please thank all those who helped me. They did so much for me." Freedom Foundation executive trustee Ashok Rau had no choice. "It was a diktat. We had to carry it out. She also made it clear that she did not want to do it from behind the veil of Chitra,'''' says Rau. In impending death was born Anu. The girl, then four, appeared at Freedom Foundation with her parents, three brothers and a sister, in 1997. Her father, a mill worker, tested HIV-positive a few years earlier. He lost his job soon after. Thereafter, Anu, her younger sister and mother all tested HIV-positive. Her three brothers were spared. Partition didn''t redefine just geographical borders; it pierced through the very fabric of a family with the virus for an ally. Within a year, her brothers had been adopted by others. Then her parents died. Anu suddenly was head of a rather depleted family. But fighters show their mettle during tough times. Anu not only looked after her tiny sister at the Freedom Foundation home but also managed to get admission at a nearby school, where she excelled. She told her caretakers that she wanted to become a doctor "so that children like me will always be cared for." Now in coma, Anu has perhaps got rid of the bad times on earth. What she will take along with her are the good memories.