Mukundan* had not had not a drink for a hundred days. It seemed to be going well, the meetings of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) that he never missed. But on that day, just before the country went into a lockdown to fight the dreaded COVID-19, a message blinked on his phone, upsetting everything. The AA in Kerala was stopping all the meetings – they could not risk a gathering of five or more people during a pandemic.
Mukundan – a native of Kannur with a job in Ernakulam – panicked. The meetings had kept him sober all these days. He called Rajeev, an active member of the AA in Ernakulam, who had sent him the message. But Rajeev said he couldn’t do anything about the situation. Upset and angry, Mukundan spoke harsh words to Rajeev and a day later, fell back to drinking.
Disregarding the lockdown, he rode his Bullet all the way home to Kannur. But then he calmed down later, without alcohol in his reach, and called Rajeev to apologise.
Rajeev understood. The extremes to which an alcoholic could go were not new to him – he too had been one. Now sober for 12 years, Rajeev says he still does not miss a day’s meeting. The meetings were an important part in their lives.
Alcoholics Anonymous or AA is an international fellowship of people trying to recover from alcoholism by sharing their ‘experience, strength and hope’ with each other. There are about 300 to 350 groups in Kerala, conducting meetings every day, in circles of 10 to 20.
“A lot of us are very dependent on these meetings to keep ourselves sober, even months and years after giving up alcohol,” says Rajeev.
The sudden lockdown and cancellation affected many like Mukundan, but the group is still trying.
“We were able to reach out to another person who we knew was about to drink,” Rajeev says.
In a week, they began online sessions of the meetings. BlueJeans and Zoom apps are being used for video conferencing. There are some technical glitches with all phones not being able to support certain apps but it largely helps that AA members are able to do their ‘shares’.
In a typical AA meeting, a small group of people – can vary from 10 to 20 – sit in a circle and share their drinking-related anecdotes. It can be an old episode when they did something stupid when drunk or something new that speaks of their sobriety.
“I used to talk of my drunken episodes and how I began using food as a way to overcome my urge to drink. It works for me because I cannot drink if I am full. It needn’t work for another. These days I talk about helping out in the kitchen, which is a big step for someone who was once so wasted that he could not locate where the kitchen was,” Rajeev says.
The online meetings can provide the same support that a physical meeting can, Rajeev reckons. It is just important that they are able to share.
There is no guarantee that someone who has years of sobriety with them will not fall back to drinking again. Rajeev mentions a lawyer in Kollam who was sober for 25 years, falling back to drinking the day he got his ‘silver token’ for finishing 25 years. “Every year, you are given a token for finishing a year of sobriety. This lawyer took home his silver token and his wife joked that it’s not like it’s an Oscar award. That somehow put him off so much that he began drinking again. It’s been four years now and he hasn’t stopped.”
It is not always the alcoholic who calls, it can be a family member. Anyone can join, the only criterion is that they wish to stop drinking. There is no registration, no fees. It is a free service, says Rajeev.
It was in the early 1980s that the AA began functioning in Kerala. “In the initial years it was mostly people speaking in English, and everyone could not get the language. Slowly, they switched to Malayalam and more groups started popping up," he adds.
In addition to AA, Al-Anon was also started as support groups for family members of alcoholics. While the support groups mostly comprise women, AA groups for women alcoholics are still not there. There are very few women who attend AA meetings in Kerala.
The AA helpline numbers in India are +91 9022771011, +91-8097055134 and +91 8655 055 134. Email is info@aagsoindia.org.
*Name changed to protect privacy