Mumbai: On October 18, as the city immersed itself in Diwali festivities, 18-year-old Akash Parab was discharged from KEM Hospital, his fractured hip still mending. Going back home to Bhandup after almost 20 days barely cheered the teenager, who was the last among the Elphinstone stampede victims to be discharged from the Parel hospital. Home would remind him of his brother Rohit (11), who was killed in the tragedy.
The festivities would make his memories worse because, like most kids, Rohit loved festivals. He loved fireworks and had participated in dahi handi since the age of five, effortlessly scaling the sixth level of the human pyramid.
The boys’ father, Ankush Parab, runs a flower stall in Bhandup and, usually, would go to the Elphinstone market himself every morning. But on September 29, due to heavy orders for Dussehra, he sent his sons. Akash and Rohit were on their way home after buying the flowers when the stampede happened.
Ankush and his wife Ankita refrained from breaking down in front of Akash, assuring him Rohit was being treated in another hospital. And Akash, who had seen an unresponsive Rohit being pulled out of the pile of bodies at the station, maintained his composure to protect his parents.
It was only after repeated efforts to persuade the parents to break the news to him that they finally told Akash, following the 10th day ceremonies. “We believe children should be made a part of the funeral process or other rituals so they can grow with it,” says Dr. Shubhangi Parkar, head of Psychiatry at KEM Hospital. “Since this was not possible, we insisted that the parents take at least one picture of the 10th day ritual. They showed him the picture when they broke the news.” Finally, Akash broke down, as did his parents. “Before this, he had cried only once,” Dr. Parkar says. “He complained of losing his appetite and severe pain, but did not cry.”
During counselling sessions, Akash revealed that Rohit was behind him when the crowd went out of control. “Dada, mala vachav (Brother, save me),” Rohit had yelled. But Akash could not move, given his injury. When onlookers pulled them out, Akash had seen that Rohit had stopped responding.
All three of them required intense psychotherapy to be able to express their feelings and break down in front of each other. Akash’s treatment, to help him deal with the guilt he feels for being unable to save his brother, will continue. The department will work closely with his parents, especially his father. “There is guilt in the father for sending his children to fetch the flowers,” Dr. Parkar says.
“In the West, they don’t believe in hiding information about death,” says Dr. Shubhangi Parkar, head of Psychiatry at KEM Hospital. “We, on the other hand, learn to protect it. The Parab family is a classic example of how one person extends
the others’ suffering by not communicating on such sensitive subjects.”
A second-year commerce student from DAV College, Akash’s third semester exams are due from November 9; the college has made arrangements for him to take the exam from home. “I am unable to concentrate. But I am trying,” he says.
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While doctors are monitoring the Parab family so they can start medication if need be, four other victims have already been prescribed anti-depressants.
Diva resident, Reshma Kadam (27), is one of them. While Ms. Kadam escaped with torn clothing and minor injuries, her mental scars run deep. “I have flashbacks,” she says. “I saw people crying and vomiting blood, and bodies being pulled out. I can’t get that out of my mind.”
Dr. Parkar says the replaying of events in her mind has led to severe sleep disturbance, sadness and anxiety, all of which is common to people who have experienced mass disaster; what doctors refer to as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Two other patients have complained of the same problem. “Both of them hear the shouting and crying of people from that day. This has led to severe sleep disturbance in them.” Besides Ms Kadam, the three others on anti-depressants, also have strong flashbacks of the tragic event;
they hear noises of people from that day and have sad mood episodes.
“One of them, a woman, has stopped commuting to work as the fear of that day has set in,” Dr. Parkar says. “She can’t get herself to alight at the same station and take that bridge. When she comes to the hospital, she comes on her brother’s motorcycle.”
A report published by the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies in the European Psychiatric Review states that bereavement, threat to life and integrity, witnessing death and horror, suffering an emotional storm or psychic numbing, physical injuries, loss of property and social disruption have been found to affect mental health. The report says, “Stress reactions after a disaster may include the diagnosis of PTSD, depression and anxiety disorders, as well as prolonged grief reactions, somatisation and substance abuse.”
In most cases, Dr. Parkar says, social and family responsibilities help victims generate a fighting mechanism.
For example, one of the injured, a 36-year-old man, had lost his wife to cancer last year. He was constantly worried about succumbing to his injuries and orphaning his two minor children. But as his wounds healed, his outlook improved. “We stopped at counselling as he did not require medication,” says Dr. Parkar. Healing from such trauma is a gradual process, she says, and intervention varies from person to person.
