A charity home sheltering destitutes, outcasts

RAJKOT: Bhaktiram Bapu’s ashram in Savarkundla was decked up on Monday. The reason? It was celebrating an inmate, Mumtaz Rathod’s ‘nikah’. This ashram, called Manav Mandir, is a true embodiment of the standards of humanity — sheltering destitutes, outcasts and people who have been subjugated to humiliation by the society. And so was 32-year-old Mumtaz, a resident of Savarkundla and a schizophrenia patient, who lived by the Navli River, harassed and abused by insensitive villagers till she was brought to the ashram three years ago.
Mumtaz reached the ashram in January 2015, where she was finally cured of her malaise. But she isn’t the only one. In the past six years, 58 other females of different age groups have been treated here for various illnesses. Around 40 of them are still getting treatment. It is a home for the mentally ill persons, with sometimes even the police sending here such patients they find abandoned on the roads. Even the relatives of such persons leave them at the ashram for better treatment and protection.

The ashram performed her ‘nikah’ on Monday. Bhaktiram Bapu said, “Mumtaz was leading a humiliated life, though her family cannot be held entirely responsible for her pathetic existence. The family members got tired and irritated of her erratic behaviour. So, she was finally brought to our ashram. Here, she received treatment from a visiting psychiatrist and lived with other similar mentally ill patients.”

Forty women are currently staying at the ashram and getting treatment. The Rajula police sent a mentally ill pregnant woman who is a native of Tamil Nadu in October and earlier this month, she gave birth to a baby girl. “For the first five days, the mother didn’t accept her baby nor breastfed her. It became even more difficult for us as she is Tamil and we couldn’t communicate with her.”

The ashram is run by volunteers who were earlier treated here, and now serve others. A government employee, who had lost her mental balance after the death of her brother and mother, was sent to the ashram by her aged father, is now serving other women. The establishment runs on well-wishers’ donations. The land for the ashram was donated by Surat-based friends of Bapu.

Vivek Joshi, a psychiatrist, who practices in Amreli, visit the ashram twice a month to treat the patients. Talking to TOI, Joshi said: “There are three kinds of patients here — mentally ill, bipolar and schizophrenic. Most of them suffered from societal abuse and hostilities. However, the ashram’s calming environment help them get cured soon. Patients who are serious and need extra treatment are referred to the government hospitals in Bhavnagar and Rajkot.”

Bapu said that the ashram had sent home three woman who were cured of their illness. But their families started to torture them again thereby deteriorating their mental state and was sent back to the ashram again. Earlier, even male patients were brought to the ashram for treatment, though that has been discontinued and only females are allowed owing to the risks from treating both the sexes in the same premises, he added.