the long queues of patients and visitors, nurses dressed in white tunics and doctors showing a sense of urgency at all times clouded the thoughts of Sonali S. Desai on a visit to a hospital. Her twin sister was not keeping well and she opted to accompany her
to see the doctor. She was running high fever.

AS SOON AS we walked Athrough the gates of the hospital, I caught a glimpse of a former classmate Jayashree. Just by looking at her face, memories of our school days came back flooding– the combined studies, science fairs, dance competitions, picnics and at the noontime when our hunger pangs troubled us and the endless gossips on campus.

It had been five years but in the brief period that I stood close to Jayashree, I realized there was lack of enthusiasm on her part to engage in any discussion. Something was worrying her. On seeing her state of mind, I thought it would be wise to leave her alone. But something else struck me. I suggested to my sister that she proceeds for her appointment with the doctor so that I could be left alone with Jayashree.

As soon as she had left, I quickly moved on to try and unravel the reasons behind her stoic silence. At the outset, she was not comfortable to discuss anything with me and soon broke down. I left her to release her pent up emotions before cajoling her to share her thoughts with me. It turned out to be a heartrending tale.

Jayashree was engaged to a guy she had loved. And I was left wondering the reasons for her
anguish when everything seemed to be moving well. She then replied: “I have a disease, a skin disease which I had no clue about it until I noticed it few days back,” she continued. “It is a white patch on my arm and the doctor says it is Leukoderma.”

According to Jayashree, Leukoderma has nothing to do with cancer. It is not contagious but incurable. The doctor had prescribed some medicines for her but she was not sure whether they would be effective. “I have to go through the stigma in the society and how will I face everyone?” she said. I was taken aback and had no words to express my sadness.

Later I rejoined my sister. As we discussed Jayashree’s case, we were both shaken and didn’t know how to console our friend. She had no other way out and it was only her fiancée who could bail her out. A month later, Jayashree called to inform me that her would-be husband had no problems with her patch but her in-laws to be were causing her a lot of problems. Life had become a constant struggle and the only thing to cheer about was
the fact that her fiancée stood like a rock behind her. This may have been the poignant tale of my friend Jayashree but there are many others like her going through the same or sometimes worse in life. Our care and support they badly need is unfortunately absent.

Mahashweta, a book by Sudha Murthy, the chairperson of Infosys Foundation and and wife to Narayan Murthy talks about Leukoderma. In this book, this simple woman with great thoughts narrates a heartrending tale that opens our eyes to the fatalities of Leukoderma in our society.

Leukoderma is a skin disease that is not communicable. A white patch appears on the skin that in some case can spread to other parts of the body. People have a mistaken belief that it is a bad omen and woman with Leukoderma are not healthy. That is far from the truth. So the next time you come across a woman with a white patch, do not give ‘an expression of shame’ but pluck the shame out of the diseased by making her feel at ease. Life has this knack of throwing up complex situations. Tomorrow anyone amongst us could be a victim of Leukoderma. Can we have a heart for these victims?