HYDERABAD: Since talking AIDS remains taboo in society, Gaddam Srinu sings about it. And that, he and his troupe, the Gaddam Brothers Dappu Dance Cultural Society, do with verve.

On Tuesday morning, just as Monda Market was getting down to business, Srinu and his band were on the job, watched by amused daily labourers lugging huge baskets and carts of vegetables. Their task — spreading awareness on AIDS and HIV in their own style, which comprises skits, street-plays, folksongs and dappu dances, among others.

"It is difficult to get people talking about AIDS. And as long as they don't do that, awareness levels will remain low. So the best way is to add some song, dance and colour to the message," says Srinu, convenor of the society, which is made up of himself and his five brothers, Anand, Eashwar, Haricharan, Ravi and Mahesh.

The Gaddam brothers, who are now helping out the Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society with the AIDS Awareness and Sustained Holistic Action (AASHA) campaign, go around the city with different NGOs who distribute pamphlets and condoms as the brothers sing and dance.

In Monda Market, Venkateshwara Social Service Association is their partner. O. Suresh, who mans the association's colourful `portable' stall, says response is good. "Many are initially shy. They stand around for some time, but once the songs attract them, they come, pick up pamphlets and condoms and then sit around to read the material."

A large bag of condoms in the stall is empty in two hours as rickshaw pullers, autorickshaw drivers, daily wage labourers, hawkers and pushcart vendors listen to the songs before moving towards the stall. There, Suresh and his colleagues explain how to use condoms and why it is important.

Though they are initially shy, the men get engaged in animated discussions among themselves, referring to real-life incidents mentioned in the pamphlets or those sung about by Srinu and Company. And then, keep humming the AIDS songs as they get back to their grind.

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