From someone who couldn’t do without 36 bottles of beer a day to working actively with addicts to ameliorate the scourge of intoxication, Prabhu Dutt Patel’s story is unbelievable and uplifting at the same time. Those who had come back from the brink of destitution and death due to their fatal habit have found succour and sustenance at Samarpan, his rehab centre. Rashmi Rekha Das recounts the achievements of a man who has done something very few can – making a dramatic turnaround in life
Helping a person struggling with alcoholism or drug dependence can be heartbreakingly painful, but with help it can be remarkably rewarding. The journey to recovery is not easy. It is a road paved with many obstacles that can trip you and lead you back to drug use. We hear a lot about the failures and the problems related to addiction and drug abuse in society as a whole but what about the successes? People who have never had problems with addiction can’t comprehend this. They say things like “Why don’t they just quit?” Well, if it were that easy, many of the world’s problems would be solved. But it isn’t.
Here is a man who seems out of place. His benevolent attitude and humility are remarkable. His attempt to help recover drug addicts and drug dependence is exemplary in a society permeated by selfishness and ego. We are talking about Bhubaneswar-based Prabhu Dutt Patel who tends to drug addicts and alcoholics from all walks of life. Without exaggeration it can be said that he has emerged as a messiah for drug addicts and alcoholics.
But what exactly drove this 48-year-old man into taking up a mission of recovery from intoxication, of helping drug addicts and alcoholics? Patel was an alcoholic. Like other addicts, he could not control himself despite some effort. He first started drinking during his college days in Ravenshaw. By the time he completed his graduation from Hindu College of Delhi University, drinking had become a habit for him. Following his graduation in 1989, he joined the University Law Center (Law Faculty) and completed LLB in 1992. Alcohol intake just kept increasing.
He has spent around 22 years of his life in Delhi, practiced law for around three years in Delhi, mainly assisting a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court and High Court. The focus of his practice was environmental law.
In July 1995 he left for the USA for his LLM degree. His habit had already taken an extreme turn and he could barely function without alcohol. As a result he stopped going to law school and stopped appearing in exams.
Other things were also happening at around this time. He was financially and morally bankrupt, a long-standing relationship had come to an end and his health, both physical and mental, was deteriorating. It was between April 1996 and March 1997 that Patel started drinking round-the-clock. He was consuming at that point 32 to 36 cans of beer every day!
“Basically, towards the end of 1996 and early 1997 I was sick of drinking but couldn’t stop, didn’t know how to stop and was scared. The words hopeless and despair best sum up my state of mind at that time. I wanted to end my life but didn’t have the guts to do so,” recounted Patel.
However, one of his old friends came to his rescue and gave him the landline number of the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.
“I called them and after a series of telephonic interviews they agreed to induct me for free treatment there. I was admitted March 12, 1997. They had an ongoing research programme on alcoholism requiring alcoholics on a regular basis. In exchange for their tests they provided four weeks of inpatient detoxification and treatment. I haven’t had a drink since that day,” says Patel.
He stayed in the USA till December 2001 and managed to complete his LLM. “Life since then has been very different. I’ve had to face all my fears, my past. The first few years were like learning to live all over again – baby steps. I was unsure of myself and of situations. Slowly but surely things fell into place. The best thing was that the compulsion to drink was lifted. I came back to India in January 2002 as my father was ailing. I was able to spend nine months with him before he passed away and to be able to attend him during those nine months and to be just present there was a very big thing for me.”
For him, at that point of time practicing law didn’t appear to be an attractive option. So he started spending a lot of time with alcoholics and addicts, visiting various rehabs in Bhubaneswar just to help them recover. He joined one such rehab as a counselor in 2003. “Somewhere down the line making money took a backseat. Working with addicts and alcoholics ensured my own sobriety and provided a deep sense of satisfaction. During this time I also started settling down. A wonderful woman had enough faith in me to join me in matrimony. This was in 2004. She is my pillar of strength and support today. We have been blessed with two daughters. This ‘normal’ picture was something I never could have dreamt about while I was drinking.”
“Eventually I started my own organisation called Purvasha and started running a rehab called Samarpan. We have a number of successes to our credit and it’s extremely heartwarming to see an alcoholic or addict get back to normal family life once again. Unfortunately, we also see more than a fair share of alcoholics and addicts slide back into the hell hole of alcoholism and addiction. Such is the complexity of the illness of alcoholism and addiction that one just cannot predict the outcome. Although a number of people and organisations are working on this issue, it is still a drop in the ocean in terms of the numbers of alcoholics and addicts out there who require serious treatment,” says Patel.
“My work with alcoholism and addiction also led to my working on issues related to HIV and AIDS. Today I am a national level resource person / facilitator / trainer on HIV and AIDS issues including counseling. I am also fortunate to be associated with adolescent issues including adolescent reproductive and sexual health and life skills training. Today I am living life as a member of society, as a husband, as a father, as a brother and as a friend. I attend support group meetings regularly and try not to get complacent with my illness. Although the compulsion to drink is no longer there (it’s been 18 years of sobriety) I know that this cunning illness is inside me, strong and patient and I can’t afford to take it lightly,” he adds.
GRATEFUL SOULS
People who have directly benefitted from Patel’s intervention shared their stories with Sunday POST.
The story of 36-year-old Manu (name changed) hailing from a respectable Punjabi family is interesting. He started drinking alcohol during his school days. Meat and liquor were not allowed in his house. Manu who had won a gold medal in swimming started coming home late as he started taking liquor after school hours. By the time he took admission in college, he had become a habitual drinker and started taking drugs. When his family members came to know about his habit they tried to convince him to get rid of liquor. His mother fasted and made offerings at Golden Temple for his recovery. But everything went in vain. When his parents stopped giving him pocket money, it became difficult for Manu to spend a day without brown sugar and cocaine. He started committing crime to fulfill his needs. He even sold furniture to buy drugs. His health started deteriorating and his hemoglobin became abysmally low. It was then his parents decided to admit him at a rehab centre. But the situation came back to square one after he left that rehab centre.
When his sister got poor marks in the examination, his parents realised they hardly gave any attention to their daughter as they remained busy all the time discussing ways to save Manu from dying.
“I had become an obstacle to my sister’s marriage. So my parents felt and asked my uncles to take me to Orissa along with them in 2000. I had to reside in my uncle’s house and started repairing inverters and other electrical gadgets to earn a livelihood. As the amount was not sufficient to buy drugs, I looted
`9 lakh from my uncle’s house when he was away. By the time his uncle came to know that Manu was behind the burglary it was too late and Manu had already left the spot.
“As I had no one in Orissa, I started roaming in the streets and spent my nights at under-construction buildings. After my family came to know about my health condition, my uncles started a search for me and spotted me near Bomikhal February 16, 2003. They took me to their house where my mother was waiting for me. She tried to kill me. They kept on asking me where I had kept the money, but I remained silent as I had already spent them on drugs. My uncles and their friends tried to convince me not to take drugs, but my reply was I could not live without drugs. I was so fed up with life that I wanted to lead a normal life. But it was not possible for me to spend an hour without drugs. My uncles and their friends realised that there was an urgent need to admit me to a rehab centre and so they did. It was in rehab I met Prabhu Bhai who was a counseller there. Prabhu bhai came as a boon for me. Initially, it was really difficult for me to sustain without drugs and I could not sleep for two-three months. After a few months I recovered. When the rehab officials contacted my mother and uncle to take me back home, everyone said no. It was Prabhu Bahi who stood by me at that time. I started work as an electrician. However, I got back the faith of my family once again. After four years I went home and attended my sister’s marriage. I got married to an Oriya girl and am leading a blissful life here,” says Manu expressing his heartfelt gratitude to Patel.
Priyaranjan Ojha (name changed), a businessman from Jajpur has another story to tell. He took beer for the first time when he was in NC High School. Though he vomited, he loved the taste and started drinking on a regular basis. He could not spend a day without liquor. Even after marriage, he could not change his habit. He started beating his wife and sons for liquor. One of his sons even bashed him for not refraining from the habit. He did not have good rapport even with his sisters and other relatives. It was his eldest son, pursuing engineering, who felt the need to admit Ojha at a rehab. He came to know about Samarpan and admitted him. Ojha has not touched liquor for three months.
“After 24 years I have come to realise what is family bonding and what family means. Recently, I attended a get-together organised by my sister. She literally cried seeing me fit and fine. No one expected that I would come back to normal life again. Everyone is happy now. Thanks to Prabhu bhai who made me understand the meaning of life,” says Ojha.
Govind Mishra (name changed) from Niladri Vihar had a heartrending story to tell. Mishra started drinking after his ladylove spurned his proposal. This left him in a state of isolation and despair. To get over such feelings, he started drinking alcohol and became a habitual drunkard. He once beat his mother black and blue just because she tried to stop him from taking alcohol. When his father felt that there was no way left to control Govind he contacted Prabhu. When Prabhu and others reached his house, his father showed them the house from a distance and did not even dare to go near Govind. Now Govind hates to touch liquor.
“I would like to thank Prabhu bhai for saving me. I could have died if Prabhu bhai hadn’t come to my rescue,” says Govind.
When asked why people from all walks of life drink alcohol or are addicted to drugs, Patel says there is no specific reason. Some drink for amusement, some to get rid of stress among other reasons and later became habitual drinkers. Samarpan is involved in alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment since its inception in 2007. It is a project of Purvasha founded on the principle of human dignity and the belief that all men are created equal and deserve to be treated with respect and compassion. With 21 beds Samarpan is a drug and alcohol treatment-cum-rehabilitation centre that provides holistic in-patient detoxification and treatment to those with alcohol or substance of abuse issues.
Believing in the whole person recovery model, Samarpan combines physical recovery as well as spiritual stimulation and growth. It views addiction and alcoholism as a socio-psycho-biological phenomenon that can be arrested and treated. In order to make this possible, Samarpan utilises the services of experienced counselors, doctors, offers yoga, meditation and physiotherapy classes as well as group sessions, daily thought sessions, sharing sessions and aftercare facilities. Although essentially a 12-step based centre, Samarpan utilises key concepts of Cognitive Behavioral Coping Skills Training. Clients are introduced to 12-step programmes such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
True, Prabhu is a professional because he is not rich enough to serve drug addicts and alcoholics by bearing all their expenses. He takes Rs 8,000 for a month’s service.
