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The year was 1987 and our struggle had begun. At that time, these problems

were very new for us and for society. My father courageously faced the
situation and started her treatment. She had to stay in a hospital for some time
but her condition began to deteriorate day by day. Sometimes, she became
violent and it was difficult for us to handle her. But my father never gave up.
He decided to take her to Chennai for treatment but no positive results came

out of that.

After that, my father took her to a mental institution in Tezpur. This was a

very bold decision taken by him and he was mentally upset because of this.
After two-three months, she came back home but she was sent back after six
months. From 1990 to 2012, she was in this institution. My father passed away
in 1998 and we shifted to Guwahati after my matriculation. I was struggling
with my sister and I had totally lost hope. In 2012, she left us even though she

just had fever. She was very weak by this time.

Sometimes I feel sad that I couldn‘t help her. It is very saddening to say that

the whole journey with her was like hell for our whole family. There should be
family counselling centres to help people like us tackle the issue.
-Brinta Parasar

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