: Rescued by Football, Ex-Alcohol Addict Gives Back to Society In Most Heartwarming Way #IndiaNEWS #Inspirational Seeing the blood flow out of his mother’s head, a 17-year-old Pankaj Mahajan cried

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Rescued by Football, Ex-Alcohol Addict Gives Back to Society In Most Heartwarming Way #IndiaNEWS #Inspirational
Seeing the blood flow out of his mother’s head, a 17-year-old Pankaj Mahajan cried incessantly. Because of his inebriation, he sat there helpless instead of calling an ambulance.  
“Had it not been for my neighbours, my mother would have passed away in front of my eyes, all because I had been drinking since morning. My father had hit her with a rod on her head during an argument and there was nothing I did to protect her. That incident changed my life,�? Pankaj, an international football coach, tells The Better India.  
A resident of Maharashtra’s Godhani village, he grew addicted to alcohol and tobacco in Class 4 and an absence of parental guidance only made it worse.  
With an alcoholic father and a disabled mother in the house, Pankaj dropped out of school to earn a living. He did not see a future for himself until his mother was severely hurt in 2011.  
‘Nobody said addiction was wrong. ’
Pankaj Mahajan a few years ago
Pankaj’s father ran a tiny shop selling daily items including tobacco. Having seen his father and other elders in the village chew tobacco with pride, a young Pankaj thought it would be ‘cool’ to follow in their footsteps.  
While manning the shop one day, Pankaj tried beedi (mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake) when no one was around. He hid the beedi and the next day took a drag again. Before he realised, he had finished an entire packet.  
“The sad part was that my father caught me smoking once and turned a blind eye. He did not stop me and neither did my mother. This gave me the impression that beedi was not a bad thing. Soon alcohol came into the picture,�? says Pankaj.  
There came a point when parents in the village warned their children to stay away from Pankaj. But he remained oblivious to these developments. One day he found himself beating an autorickshaw driver.  
If his social life was affected, his health and financial issues were not far behind.  
“My teeth turned yellow and my appetite reduced drastically. I could barely run and felt tired all the time,�? he adds.  
He had to discontinue his studies after Class 10 to earn money. Whatever little money his father earned was spent on alcohol and gambling. Frustrated by their lack of money, his father often beat his mother and him.  
To escape the beatings, Pankaj sought more alcohol and tobacco. It became a vicious cycle until Slum Soccer NGO came into the picture. Started by Akhilesh Paul, the NGO works with homeless children to uplift them through football.  
The NGO learnt about Pankaj’s situation from the villagers and decided to intervene.
He was offered free football training and a small stipend and was enrolled back in school.

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