“I started taking alcohol in my teenage. Gradually, I turned into an alcoholic. I would care a damn about anything. I had hundreds of excuses not to leave drinking. I treated my wife as my biggest enemy as she came in the way of my drinking. I was revolving around the bottle, and my family around me… But look at me today….It’s over 22 years since I am out of it and am living happily with my family,” narrated 66-year-old Vijay (name changed) in one breath.

Vijay, a businessman in Mumbai, was in Shimla to celebrate the re-birth of alcoholics (June 9-10) as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) — a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other to solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism free of cost.

Over 300 such recovering alcoholics are gathering here for the event with their families for enjoyment, which they said, they earlier denied them, as also to show the light to others.

They will motivate alcoholics shed this ‘disease of denial’ through a public awareness meeting on June 7, wherein the recovering alcoholics and their families will tell their tales of failure and success.

Founded in 1935 in America by two alcoholics, AA has 30-lakh members in 180 countries and every third of them is a female. In India, the AA has 40,000 members, out of which over 200 are women. It hasn’t penetrated much in HP yet.

The AA, which runs with voluntary contribution of the members, has reached out to the tribal areas of the country as well. The identities in the AA are kept anonymous, and it does not involve medical intervention. “Our fight is not against alcohol. It is against alcoholism, which is a Progressive Fatal Incurable Disease. It’s partly in mind, partly in body. It is a family disease and emotional sickness. Everybody who drinks is not an alcoholic. The people who take alcohol in limits and are not affected by it are not alcoholics. But those who can’t control, are alcoholics,” Vijay told The Statesman.

He said he had suffered black out in memory at times and his hands had started shivering, before he reached the AA in Mumbai through a link. “It was difficult and I failed several times even after coming in contact with AA. Ultimately, fear of a pre- mature torturous death and insanity made be shun alcohol.”

According to AA members, many alcoholics or families don’t share their problems owing to the stigma attached with alcoholism.

“After Amir Khan’s Satyamev Jaytey episode on alcoholism on TV channel, the AA got 4-lakh calls from the country (a number of them from Himachal also). But there wasn’t much response later for stigma,” they said.