Mr. Tara Anwar Bepari was 76 years old when he came to the Cipla Palliative Care & Training Centre (CPC). A transgender person from Junnar, Pune, he had spent much of his life searching for acceptance and safety in a world that rarely offered either.
At the age of 13, Tara came to understand and express his gender identity. His family did not accept this truth. He was forced to leave home, losing all contact with his parents, who later passed away without his knowledge and with his two brothers who lived in Pune but remained estranged. The rejection left deep emotional scars, though Tara rarely spoke about them. He carried his pain quietly, learning early how to survive without showing vulnerability.
Over the years, Tara found support and affection within his community. He lived with community members and a close well-wisher, Ms. Fida, and by all appearances lived a content and settled life. Beneath this calm exterior, however, lay years of unspoken grief, loneliness, and emotional fragility, something that emerged only slowly through counselling and rapport-building at CPC. Tara was introverted, cautious, and guarded, and it took time for trust to grow. He also struggled with addiction, another coping mechanism born from a life of exclusion.
In 2023, Tara was diagnosed with cancer and began treatment at Indrayani Hospital. Due to multiple setbacks in his treatment, the disease progressed. Eventually, doctors advised that no curative treatment was possible and recommended a shift to palliative care.
Tara first came to CPC on an outpatient basis, where early interventions began. As his condition worsened, the palliative physician advised admission. However, Tara had no formal caregiver. It was through the support of his well-wisher, Ms. Fida, that he was admitted initially under a relative consent form. After a month, following due process, documentation was completed, and Tara became fully entrusted to the care of the Centre.
At CPC, care extended far beyond symptom management. In the beginning, Tara remained emotionally closed off, speaking little about his life or feelings. The team responded with patience, spending time with him, sitting beside him, listening without pressure, allowing trust to develop at his pace. Slowly, he began to open up.
The team learned what brought him comfort. He enjoyed non-vegetarian food, which was arranged for him. He loved music and participated in musical programmes. He celebrated festivals at the Centre, experiencing joy, inclusion, and acceptance, things that had been denied to him for much of his life. In these moments, CPC became more than a care facility; it became a place where Tara felt seen and valued as a person.
As his condition deteriorated, Tara was fully aware that there was no further curative treatment. His well-wisher, Ms. Fida, deeply attached to him and considering him her Guru spent increasing time by his side. Together with the team, open and honest conversations were held about his condition and what lay ahead.
During one such conversation, Tara spoke about his death. He expressed complete trust in CPC and shared that if he were to pass away, he wished that the Centre to take responsibility for his last rites. It was not a request born of abandonment, but of gratitude. He trusted that the people who had cared for him in life would honour him in death with dignity.
When Tara passed away, his well-wisher chose to take his body and perform the cremation herself. Soon after, she called the social worker at CPC, with heartfelt gratitude. She thanked the team for giving Tara respect, care, and a sense of home in the final phase of his life.
Mr. Tara Anwar Bepari’s story is a powerful reminder of what palliative care truly means. For someone rejected by family and society, CPC became chosen family. For someone who lived on the margins, it became home. And for someone who had been denied dignity for much of his life, palliative care ensured that dignity was never taken from him again.
