This annual festival brings those suffering from mental illnesses into the mainstream

A benign man smiles at you from behind a small stall selling intricately crafted diyas, paper bags, purses and cards at the Manav Foundation’s annual event ‘Flow- the Stream of Energies’. All around the crowded room, men and women stand chattering away to one another.

“I wonder if you can recognize any of the patients by looking around the room and tell them apart,” says Meena Abhaymutha, a trustee at the Manav Foundation, a challenge in her question. That some among the crowd suffer from different forms of mental illness is not immediately apparent, and not one of them can be told apart from the volunteers or staff of Manav. “This is one of our biggest aims — to bring those who suffer from emotional distress or mental illness into mainstream society,” she says.

The Manav Foundation was started four years ago, to help give individuals with various mental illnesses a chance to be treated and brought back into society while also fighting against the stigma associated with mental illnesses. “Our day care centre is open six days a week, from Monday to Saturday and we provide a holistic approach to psycho-social therapy,” says Abhaymutha.

“In the process of starting the Manav Rehabilitation Centre, we realized that there was a lot of artistic and creative talent that was not recognized. That’s when we planned Flow - the Stream of Energies. Legwork for this event starts months in advance,” says Binaifer Jesia, director, Manav Foundation.

... contd.