Kolkata cafe run by HIV-positive youths breaks stigmas, draws crowds

A cafe run by seven HIV-positive youths in Kolkata’s Ballygunge area is attracting prejudice-free customers from all walks of life, besides clearing misconceptions about the disease.

‘Cafe Positive’, first started in a 100-sq ft garage in Jodhpur Park in 2018 by Dr Kallol Ghosh, recently changed address and moved to bigger space in Ballygunge to accommodate the “increasing rush of customers”.

The seven youths do everything from preparing food and beverages, such as coffee, fish and chips to sandwiches, to serving them to the customers.

Ghosh, who claimed that this was the first such café in Asia, on Monday told PTI, “Our regular customers don’t have any hang-ups about visiting a place managed by HIV-positive people. We provide every visitor leaflets giving out all details about the café.”

“Most of them say they don’t have a problem, although some still leave. People in their twenties are very receptive and progressive. It must be kept in mind that HIV does not spread like other contagious diseases,” he said.

Recalling the initial days of struggle, Ghosh, who runs an NGO for HIV-positive children, said that he had difficulty finding a place to set up the cafe but, after some convincing, the landlord of a standalone building in Jodhpur agreed to rent out the garage to him.

“Some neighbours, however, objected to our venture claiming that garbage generated from our cafe may spread AIDS in the vicinity. Mind you, this was an upscale locality in South Kolkata,” he said.

“It was a difficult battle but the city never turned its face away. Now, at our new Ballygunge address, a cross-section of Kolkatans — from young professionals, students, executives to homemakers and even celebrities — throng our place without any hesitation. This new address has a bigger space and can handle the rush better,” he said.

Ghosh said the initiative helped HIV-positive teenagers, who contracted the virus for no fault of theirs, to earn a living with their heads held high.

“During the lockdown, the cafe was shut. However, patrons returned shortly after the restrictions were lifted. The NGO took care of the seven employees amid the shutdown,” Ghosh stated.

He added that ‘Cafe Positive’ outlets will be opened in four shopping malls in the city in the coming days.

An 18-year-old youth serving pasta to a group of customers said, “We are no different from others and should not be treated like pariahs. Sidhu da (Siddhartha Ray) of ‘Cactus’ band visited our cafe several times and encouraged us to keep working hard. We thank the city for accepting this cafe.”

Inside Cafe Positive: Asia’s first eatery with all HIV positive staff

Please click the below button for full update :

Click Here

বিশেষ সক্ষম আবদুল্লার হাতেই ফুটে উঠছে কালীর শক্তিদায়িনী রূপ

মানসিক প্রতিবন্ধী আবদুল্লা। সেই সঙ্গে শ্বাসনালিতেও সমস্যা তাঁর। কথা বলতে অসুবিধা হয়। সেই আবদুল্লার হাতের জানতেই শ্যামা কালীর শক্তিদায়িনী রূপ ফুটে উঠছে সোনারপুরের স্টুডিওতে। জাতি, ধর্ম, বর্ণ ও সাম্প্রদায়িকতার ভেদাভেদকে ভুলিয়ে দিয়েছেন মৃৎশিল্পী বুদ্ধদেব চিত্রকর ও আবদুন্না। বুদ্ধদেবের সঙ্গে কাঁধে কাঁধ মিলিয়ে কালী প্রতিমা গড়ছেন বিশেষ সক্ষম আবদুল্লা। আবদুল্লার মধ্যে নামী মৃৎশিল্পী হওয়ার সম্ভাবনা দেখছেন তাঁরা। সোনারপুরের গোবিন্দপুরে পোটোর মোড়ের মৃৎশিল্পীর স্টুডিওতে আবদুল্লা কালীর মূর্তি গড়ছেন। খড় দিয়ে ঠাকুরের কাঠামো বাঁধা থেকে ছাঁচ তৈরি, রং করা সবেতেই সমান দক্ষতার সঙ্গে কাজ করছেন। উৎসাহে খামতি নেই। মৃৎশিল্পীর বাড়িতে থেকেই দিনরাত ধরে প্রতিমা গড়ার কাজ রপ্ত করছেন আবদুল্লা। ছোট থেকে বড় হয়েছেন হোমে। তবে গোবিন্দপুরের ‘আপনজন’ হোমে থাকার সময় থেকেই তাঁর প্রতিমা গড়ার কাজের প্রতি আগ্রহ দেখা দেয়। হোমের দুর্গাপ্রতিমা গড়ার সময় আবদুন্না সারাক্ষণ সেখানে বসে প্রতিমা গড়ার কাজ রপ্ত করতেন। মৃৎশিল্পী বুদ্ধদেব চিত্রকরের কথায়, ‘ওই হোমে গত ১৭ বছর ধরেই দুর্গাপ্রতিমা গড়া হয়। মাস দুয়েক ধরে সেই প্রতিমা গড়ার কাজ চলে। সেই সময়ই আবদুল্লার প্রতিমা গড়ার কাজের উৎসাহ নজরে আসে। দুর্গাপ্রতিমা গড়ার সব কাজেই আমাদের সঙ্গে হাত লাগায় আবদুল্লা। তখনই বুঝতে পারি ওর মধ্যে আগ্রহ রয়েছে। হোম কর্তৃপক্ষের সঙ্গে কথা বলে আবদুল্লাকে স্টুডিওতে কাজে নিয়ে নিই। মাত্র এক বছরেই বেশ ভাল প্রতিমা গড়ার কাজ রপ্ত করেছে আবদুল্লা।’ আপনজন হোমের কর্ণধার কল্লোল ঘোষ জানান, এই কাজে যুক্ত হয়ে আবদুল্লার শুধু কাজের সংস্থান বা সমাজের মূল স্রোতে ফেরা তা নয়, বর্তমান অস্থির সময়ে একটা সুন্দর নিদর্শনও তৈরি হয়েছে।

Only Positive Vibes

The world has rapidly advanced over the last two decades but people infected with HIV continue to face social stigma and are left with limited opportunities for earning a livelihood. Cafe Positive aims at shattering the jinx, writes Mohammed Safi Shamsi.

The ‘Positive’ people at the Cafe

“I am a 24-year-old girl. I came to Anandaghar in 2007. I work here as a cashier. Customers are friendly. Some are reserved. I have friends, and during our free time we discuss how we are going to celebrate Durga Puja this year.”
“I am 19. I came to Anandaghar when I was just five years old. I have passed higher secondary exams. Customers now gel well. My conver- sation with friends is usually about shopping.”
“I am 20 years old. I came to Anandaghar when I was around 9 years old. The cafe has shown us the way. We are working hard, and have dreams. I work in the kitchen area. Customers at times say that they don’t think we are ‘ill’. Friends advise us to have healthy food for staying fit.”

House of HAPPINESS

Avi’s two elder sisters were, however, lbrtunate enough to be born ftee of the virus. Avi’s mother, along with the children, returned to her family in an Ultadanga slum from Nagpur, where they used to stay previously. Her brothers did not accept her and forced her and her children to live in a Oft X Oft dingy room with no provision for food or cloth.. When her neighbours Pound out, they tried to cast the fam-ily out of the locality Some 300 slum dwellers lay siege to the family and threatened them with death. They even stopped volunteers ft.= OFFER, a social organisation, who went to rescue the family. With the help of police, the social workers could shift Avi to Anandaghar and help h. mother get a job. Avl spent three months in hospital, undergoing treatment tbr malnutrition. At the moment, he is fine, and in high “I love to play with toy cars,” he says with a shy smile.

HIV+ dream starts brewing from Jodhpur Park address

KoLkata: The dream project of 10 sitive teenagers — that had hit many hurd-les, from finding a house to acceptance by locals — finally started brewing from a Jodhpur Park address on Saturday after-noon. CaM Positive. an entrepreneurship project by the 10 HIV-positive boys and girls, became operational at a 12 feet by 10 feet garage space at 524 Jodhpur Park in south Kolkata.

Positively full of beans

It is easy to miss Cafe Positive, tucked : away in a corner of the warren of . shops at Jodhpur Park bazaar in Kol-kata. But the discreet venue, the re-furbished garage of a four-story residen-tial building, has seen a steady stream of celebrity visitors in the past few Weeks. Since its opening last month, film stars, activists and journalists have been drop-ping by to pledge support. ‘ In a first of its kind in India, Café Pos-itive is run by a crew of HIV positive men and women. Kallol Ghosh, the founder-director of Organisation For Friends Energies and Resources (Offer), a non-profit outfit from where the café’s team has been recruited, says the ‘positive’ in the café’s name is not just the defining characteristic of the people running it, but also the hope that our misconcep-tions about HIV+ will change over a liber-ating cup of coffee.

Charge Through The Cappuccino

In a rain-splattered afternoon in Calcutta, three women, childhood friends now in their late forties, dec-ide to meet for coffee. “But instead of the cafes where we usually catch up, we decided to drop in at this new joint everyone is talking about,” says Chandrima Chanda, a teacher, who tra-velled nearly 40 km from the north of the city to get to leafy and busy Jodh-pur Park in south Calcutta, where on July 15 a new coffee shop unveiled its very special charms to the public.

ক্যাফে চালাবে এইচআইভি অক্রান্তদের সংস্হা

All the member of Super gas foundation and children or staff of OFFER celebrated the Beti Bachao