Humble doc says award a surprise

MUMBAI: “I don’t think the work is exemplary, that’s why the award comes as a surprise,” said Dr Bharat Vatwani, the first ever psychiatrist to receive the Magsaysay Award in 2018.

Dr Vatwani, with his wife, Dr Smitha Vatwani, has reunited over 7,000 destitute wanderers suffering from mental illnesses with their families.

“In 1988, we came across a long-haired guy drinking water from a gutter ... he was a schizophrenic. We asked him if he’d like to come with us for treatment and he agreed,” said Dr Smitha, a psychiatrist.

The patient turned out to be a BSC student from Andhra Pradesh with a father who was a district-level superintendent. They managed to reunite them after writing to his father.

Since then, Dr Vatwani, his wife Smitha and their team of 30 people at Shradhha Rehabilitation Center have been reuniting at least three families every day now. After reuniting over 942 families in 2017 they have already helped reunite more than 480 families this year.

Their rehabilitation centre, that started with just one bed at Borivli grew into a sprawling 6.5-acre, 200-patient facility at Karjat by 2007.

“The award assured me that there are people out there noticing our work,” Dr Vatwani said.

The duo, however, has worked hard to remain outside the limelight of media and social gatherings because they believe it deviates them from their paths.

Dr Vatwani said he hoped his work would encourage others to create a huge network in the country to help the mentally-ill. “Imagine ... There would be no mentally-challenged person without a home,” Dr Vatwani said.