ODD man out

BHUBANESWAR: Entangled in the vicious world of drugs, the final destination for most addicts are invariably jails, rehab centres or death. But here is a man who is a glorious exception. Having pulled himself out of 15 years of addiction, he decided to devote himself to helping others come out of the habit. Meet Nihar Ranjan Dash, a former addict and a college dropout who describes himself as an odd man doing an odd job in an odd way.This 49-year-old man has been running ODD Foundation, a drug de-addiction centre in Bhubaneswar, for the last 10 years with the support of his psychologist wife.
It was "a look into the mirror and finally an innate call" which transformed his life. "Like every day I was brushing my hair in front of the mirror but somehow I was doing it more consciously," recalls Dash who lived with an addict friend after being disowned by his parents and dropping out of college.
After spending 14 precious years in the dark lanes of substance abuse, he realized his idea of being on drugs to be macho, youthful and elite was just an illusion. "I felt shattered because I realized I was looking terrible," said Dash who was introduced to drugs and alcohol when he was just 17.
In fact Dash feels that most youths get attracted to drugs for glamour. "Television and the Internet may be shaping ideas, but a lot depends on how individuals react to the temptation," he believes.
With a hope to start life afresh he tried to flee from Bhubaneswar to a place where no one would know him. But fate brought him back to the city. "And with my return to the city, I returned to the deadly world of drugs, too, but this time with substitutes like sedatives," said Dash.
He soon joined a rehabilitation centre to further his desire of helping others. In fact it was there that he met his psychologist wife with the support of whom Dash quit the job of a counsellor and came up with the ODD Foundation.
"The basis of our therapy is the assumption that addicts have some form of personality defect which leads to obsessions," says Dash. "I try to hit the defects first and remove the obsession. It is purely an experiment based on experience. Besides peer counsellors also play an important role."
However, a follow up is still more important. "I may be satisfied that I have helped a person overcome it, but I know a relapse is always possible," said Dash who believes de-addiction is a life long process. And for this Dash feels addicts need a healthy cooperation from their family and friends. "We should deal with them sensitively."