'I'm Kalyani and I'm HIV-positive. I'm a teacher. Can you find a match for me please?' Every day social worker Kottaram George handles dozens of requests like this running his marriage bureau in India for people who are HIV-positive.
It offers a lifeline to the lonely and a chance to beat the stigma of having the virus. Few sufferers are willing to reveal they have the disease, even to loved ones. Families throw them out, landlords will not rent to them and employers refuse to hire them.
But if they are unmarried, the pressure from parents to find a partner is tremendous.
'With this bureau, we help HIV-positive people to get married among themselves, avoiding the spread of the disease,' Mr George said.
'They can share their sufferings and console each other. After all, victims may live for more than 10 to 15 years and they need a happy relationship for that time.'
The Santhwanam Marriage Bureau in Kozhikode, Kerala, is popular, getting around 100 e-mails and 40 phone calls a day, mostly from people aged 20 to 40.