Vijay (name changed) considers himself one of the lucky ones. He had reached a point in life when all hope had been snuffed out, an ‘end’ stage when the slightest nudge could have sent him over the edge, beyond saving – all because of a ‘chemical.’ But for a split-second, his flailing mind grasped at the prospect of survival. And that was enough. A reel of images played endlessly on loop – of his mother, his family, friends, and the horror of how far he had let himself go. But he describes this realisation as ‘winning the lottery,’ for it hauled him out of his darkest days and to a life dedicated in part to saving others in a similar predicament.
His gratitude stems from the understanding that it is a very small percentage of alcoholics who are able to come out of denial and force themselves to tread the unpleasant road to recovery. “There was always a voice saying this is wrong, even during the early days. But what matters is that you learn to heed it.”
Vijay was a regular at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, but he, along with a few others, felt the need for a ‘nadan AA.’ This led to the formation of the Madhumukthi group, which functions under the Samabhavana Trust and meets every Tuesday evening at the Sathyan Memorial Hall near the Museum premises.
Similar to the philosophy adopted by the worldwide organisation of AA, the Madhumukthi too involves fellow addicts coming together and talking about their experiences with one another. But this is a six-stage process, unlike AA’s 12, which prioritises rebuilding self-respect and affirming a belief that they cannot afford to let themselves rot, but be useful to their families, most importantly, and to their community, Jacob Varghese, who chairs the trust, says.
Separate sessions are held for wives, mothers, and even children of addicts, a member of AA told The Hindu on condition of anonymity.
“There are AA meetings being held in the city every day of the week. We keep no record of the numbers, and our focus is entirely on that closed-door discussion. There, only those who admit to being alcoholics convene and they talk about episodes they would not otherwise be comfortable with sharing. We keep in touch with each other, call each other whenever we feel the urge to drink,” he says. In that room, he says, a toddy-tapper, a businessman, and a government official are all treated the same.
