They are thankful to alcohol because it changed their lives, for the better. Sounds hard to believe but members of one of world’s most successful self-help groups -- Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) -- are not shy of calling themselves alcoholics and make no bones about alcohol being, in an inverted way, an agent of change in their lives.
The Bangalore AA group is celebrating its 41st anniversary, on Sunday at St Vincent Palloti Church Hall, Banaswadi, at 9.30am. This year their focus will be on reaching out to women alcoholics.
“I don’t have any bias against alcohol and I respect it for what it can do to me; it can kill me,” says Michael, an AA Bangalore Intergroup member.
AA is a grouping of people who’ve had a problem with drinking and have given it up with the support of the group’s free recovery programme. “An alcoholic has an obsession (with liquor) that leads to spiritual bankruptcy. But not everybody who drinks is an alcoholic,” he adds.

Last refuge
“An alcoholic wants to stop drinking but he can’t. He goes to a pub for two drinks but ends up having 22. He becomes bankrupt but does not acknowledge that alcohol is a problem. Only when he hits the rock bottom does he realise that it was all because of alcohol. AA is the last stop for alcoholics,” says Reena (name changed).
Reena says she started drinking at age 11. “By 13, I became a regular drinker. Later, when I got a job, I started drinking in the evenings. My first drink was at 6.30 pm. By 8 pm I would polish off one bottle and continue drinking till 4 am. It went on for years till one day I got knocked out after having 30 ml. I wanted to stop but couldn’t. That’s when I met a psychiatrist and he told me about AA. I haven’t had a drink these past three years.”
Says Ravi (name changed), “I used to lie to my people and went to the extent of bribing cops to tell my family that I was in the lockup the previous night and not out drinking. My wife and children left me in disgust and I was reduced to begging. It was then that I came in contact with AA.”
AA holds daily meetings at different places in the City, at 7 pm. The objective is to empathise with a fellow alcoholics and help them on their road to recovery through sharing personal experiences and complete spiritual surrender. 
Women’s recovery group meets every Wednesday between 6.30 and 7.30 at Stracey Memorial High School, opposite Koshy’s.
The meetings start with a prayer followed by reading out of the 12 steps and then experience sharing.
 “Admitting that one is an alcoholic puts the person on the road to recovery. The AA fellowship is not affiliated to any culture or religious group,” says Michael, Trustee, AA, Bangalore.
Contact AA helpline on 98455875709, 9902262316.