Eventually his parents tried to marry him off to a close relative. Unable to reveal his illness, Akbar left his village and landed in T Narsipur.

Here the idea of marrying another HIV positive struck him. Now, Akbar is seeking a bride below 30 years, religion no bar but the only criteria needed is she should be HIV positive.

This is where H N Girish steps in. A science teacher and the creator of AIDS amma - the Goddess of Mensikyathanahalli temple in T Narsipur. For many AIDS-affected, this temple is their only hope to solace and company. Girish strives to get HIV positive patients married, a matchmaker of sorts.Says Girish, it is extremely difficult to find a bride or groom who are HIV positive, as "most of them keep their HIV status to themselves". However, he says, he'll try his bestto make marital life possible for Akbar. "A lot of people from Tamil Nadu visit the temple seeking the blessing of AIDS amma at the temple," he said.

Akbar while revealing his future plans, says he has stashed enough money for the partner who outlives the other. "I may have a short life left, but I want it to be complete," he avers.

Girish has been locating the bride-to-be through the district hospital sources and visiting villages seeking a bride for Akbar. "When single sex marriages are possible in western countries, why not same `status' marriages here," he quips.

The science teacher says that the temple has helped to remove the `stigma' which had afflicted the HIV positive villagers. More and more people, majority of them hailing from Tamil Nadu, throng the temple. Most of the visitors come to the temple as devotees seeking a cure for AIDS with a `pooja'.

Most of the HIV positive persons were found to have kept their status discreet, Girish added. Akbar says, he too had not disclosed his status toanyone until he visited the temple.