A Reflection on Rehabilitation at Amitha Cadabams in Bangalore

The less said is more when I begin to write about my second home, Cadabams. Being ranked the top rehabilitation centre is certainly controversial because we complain and criticize instead of being compassionate and grateful for their relentless effort to touch people's lives professionally with a personalized touch since 1992. How often do we come across institutions that slowly and steadily stand strong, delivering higher quality year by year? We do not often receive 24/7 medical attention at home like we do at Cadabams. Who helps us when we mess up or need assistance? Usually, nobody. In Cadabams, we get help round the clock to ensure we are arranged and not deranged. Talking about food, you will find directors like Mr. Gurudatt and Mr. Ananthrag standing to serve food. Humility and care underlie their actions. They handcraft a special menu to ensure proper nutrition and taste, with special lunches on special occasions making every day feel unique.

My Stay at Cadabams in 2019

I stayed at Cadabams for more than six months in 2019. Staying here is expensive, but not an understatement. Let’s address different parts of my stay there.

Shelter

Originally, I stayed in a multiple room with three other roommates. It is beneficial to stay with other people so that social interaction is there. Also, friendly bonding and sharing helps heal us. It is cheaper as well. There are triple, double, and single rooms, as well as cottages available.

Food

Food is often the most complained about aspect of Amitha Cadabams. I found it tasting very simple, but given that I am a South Indian, the food is in the South Indian style. The menu consists of items such as roti, subzi, rice, sambar, rasam, and buttermilk. There is bed coffee at 6:30 AM, breakfast at 7:30 AM, lunch at 12:30 PM, tea and biscuits at 4 PM, and dinner at 6:30 PM. Special lunches are served on special occasions, and there are serpentine queues at all food timings. It often takes an extra half an hour to accommodate people queuing for their meals. Every fortnight, you can order your own snacks from the internal store. People typically go for comfort food like cakes, biscuits, namkeens, potato chips, juices, and bread, spread butter, and jam.

Exercise

There is a large area for walking which most residents use to walk for more than an hour in the morning. I walked for two hours daily, and this habit has stuck with me. There is also yoga and physical training in the mornings.

Stores

There is an internal store which caters to needs like soap, toothpaste, etc. The charges are marked up, needing residents to exercise caution and discretion in ordering things.

Clothing

There is a common laundry service, but if you don’t like your clothes being cooked in hot water along with everyone else’s, you can wash your clothes yourself. There is enough drying area for clothes to dry.

Activities

To keep the residents busy, they have designed programs like the Short Term Rehabilitation Program (STRP) with an instruction-based psychology syllabus, the Blossom and Wisdom programs. These are held from 11-12 PM in the morning and 3-4 PM in the evenings every day. I found the STRP program very beneficial, where we learned about mental illnesses like depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and more. This program made me introspect, making me a regular attendee, and I rarely missed a class here in STRP.

Shopping and Special Events

Depending on the resident's request and once they get their family's consent, residents can go on shopping trips to a nearby mall, go for lunch to a supposed restaurant, a beauty parlor, trips to CCD Cafe, Coffee Day, etc. Special events like poojas, Diwali, Christmas, New Year’s Eve are conducted every year. The counselors and management conduct these events, and residents get a chance to showcase their skills. These events are well managed by the management and counselors.

Networking

While talking to other residents, I found out that Cadabams Amitha is the best rehab in India. I don’t know the veracity of this statement, but I personally saw residents coming from all over India. I met so many residents from other states and was happy to share my problems and discuss their problems as well. There were residents from other countries whom I networked with.

Overall Opinion

I believe living so near to a forest reserve grounds you. I found myself enjoying the morning sun, appreciating what I already had instead of coveting others, participating in events wholeheartedly, and chasing time to get discharged. Overall, I liked it that I healed while staying at Amitha Cadabams.