By Lamat R Hasan
Vijay Simha’s personal struggle with drugs and alcohol is one of India’s best-known stories of victory over addiction. Simha became homeless and penniless and landed on the streets, was rejected by most people he interacted with, that is, till he decided to do something about it.
Simha has signed a two-book deal with Fingerprint! to talk about this difficult journey. The first will be a memoir, and the second on how to recover from addiction.
He talks to Catch about his incredible journey – how he overcame his personal struggle with drugs and alcohol and how he is now touching the lives of others.
Edited excerpt from the interview:
VS: I had begun to step out into the world towards the end of class 10 in 1978 in Secunderabad. The friends I began to spend time with listened to western music, watched English movies, smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol.
None of this was part of the environment I was raised in. Doing it with friends was cool and it created an alternate, exciting world for me. My friends introduced me to tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and opium and its brown sugar derivative. I never introduced drugs to anyone. I was a follower, blown away by the magical effect these substances had on me. Drugs made my life thrilling. I began to spend more time with friends and less with family. Read more
