“I love alcoholics. I want to help them because I have gone through that pain. It robs a person off everything,” said Ajay (not real name), 38, an engineer from Chandigarh.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he flashed back his memory, when alcohol, which he tasted first in Class VIII, almost brought a dead-end for him.

“I was introvert. Alcohol made me confident. The social acceptability of alcohol made me even more susceptible. I did everything for liquor..told lies and stole money from purse of my wife and embarrassed my family in public. I had no resources. My job was at stake,” he shared with The Statesman.

“I contracted Tuberculosis from father that worsened my condition. But I had to drink alcohol at any cost,” Ajay said in the same breath.

Luckily, he found a point of return. He came in contact with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) over six years ago through his family members, who were desperate to correct him. It took him eight months to leave alcohol and realise what he missed in life.

AA is 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.

Ajay, who was recently in Shimla for AA conference, is now a self-motivated person, passing on ‘unconditional love’ to alcoholics in Chandigarh  (Helpline no. 094170-37358) as a part of AA, offering them ‘golden chance’ that saved him.

“It is a disease of denial and defiance. While the alcoholic suffers, those living with him turn neurotic. So, besides, AA, we have Al-Anon that offers programme for recovery of families and friends of alcoholics, and Alateen, a fellowship designed for younger relatives and friends of alcoholics through their teens,” said Vijay (not real name), 66, from Mumbai.

Vijay left alcohol after repeated failures 22 years back and is committed to the cause of alcoholics since then through AA.

“The people who take alcohol in limits and are not affected by it are not alcoholics. Those who can’t control are alcoholics. The first symptom is the increase in alcohol tolerance,” he added.

The AA does not involve medical intervention. Roughly, 33 per cent of its members come from Rehabilitation centres. “It treats the thought and motivates the person make amends through a 12 step programme,” said Vikas.

The AA members said many alcoholics or families don’t share their problems owing to stigma attached with alcoholism. “AA keeps the identity of members anonymous and does not go for documentation.”

Active internationally, AA has 40,000 members in India, including 200 women. It runs on voluntary contribution by members and has branches in different states. AA is yet to penetrate much in Himachal Pradesh.