A Different High
India Today|January 16, 2023
Happiness delivery: Once drug addicts themselves, the couple now runs a drug rehabilitation centre in Guwahati
KAUSHIK DEKA
A Different High

Amrit Baishya was a brilliant student at the Kendriya Vidyalaya he studied in at Noonmati in Guwahati. The only son in a middle-class family, he was highly pampered, every wish of his fulfilled as soon as he uttered it. That his father ran a successful travel agency business and mother worked as a government school teacher also helped. Being among the toppers in every class, he also gave his parents no reason to complain. Nothing seemed off limits, even drinking with senior school students when he was in Class 10. When his parents did intervene, he would flaunt his marksheet at them.

He was in Class 11 in 2010 when Amrit decided it was time to graduate to something bigger. He first experimented with drugs out of the Rs 500 he had taken from his parents to buy a book. Experimentation soon gave way to addiction, and the high scores to a downhill journey away from classrooms and in the dark alleys of Guwahati. Several temporary stints at rehabilitation centres followed, to no avail. Eventually, tired of his constant demand for money, stealing and uncontrollable aggression, Amrit's parents threw him out of their house on June 24, 2017.

This story is from the January 16, 2023 edition of India Today.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the January 16, 2023 edition of India Today.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM INDIA TODAYView All
The Macallan M 2023 debuts in India
India Today

The Macallan M 2023 debuts in India

Standing as a pinnacle of exclusivity, The Macallan M 2023 graces the shores of India with limited 10 handpicked bottles for whisky aficionados

time-read
1 min  |
May 06, 2024
Give it up for the science bros
India Today

Give it up for the science bros

They've got brains, brawn and billions in the bank. A new breed of wellness guru is doing for men what Gwyneth Paltrow did for women.

time-read
10 mins  |
May 06, 2024
LIVING BY THE RULES
India Today

LIVING BY THE RULES

Chetan Bhagat returns to non-fiction with his new book-11 Rules for Life

time-read
1 min  |
May 06, 2024
The Mysterious City
India Today

The Mysterious City

Anuradha Kumar's The Kidnapping of Mark Twain paints an intriguing portrait of Bombay around the time of the American writer's visit

time-read
2 mins  |
May 06, 2024
GOWDA KNOWS
India Today

GOWDA KNOWS

Hot Stage, the third book in Anita Nair's Inspector Gowda mystery series, is here

time-read
2 mins  |
May 06, 2024
WITH OUR OWN DESI SLEUTHS
India Today

WITH OUR OWN DESI SLEUTHS

Indian detective fiction gets its due in this massive, two-volume compilation from Hachette

time-read
2 mins  |
May 06, 2024
PRIVATE PARADISE
India Today

PRIVATE PARADISE

Your home may well be your haven, but here are easy ways to make it your very own spa-dom.

time-read
5 mins  |
May 06, 2024
Subversive IN SUBURBIA
India Today

Subversive IN SUBURBIA

A MONTH-LONG SHOW AT ART AND CHARLIE, MUMBAI, SHOWCASING THE WORKS OF POONAM JAIN AND YOGESH BARVE POSES SEVERAL QUESTIONS TO THE VIEWER

time-read
2 mins  |
May 06, 2024
THE HOME THAT WAS
India Today

THE HOME THAT WAS

A soon-to-launch gallery at the Partition Museum in Delhi will showcase artefacts capturing 'The Lost Homeland of Sindh'

time-read
2 mins  |
May 06, 2024
The Enchanted Forest
India Today

The Enchanted Forest

A perfect refuge for city-weary folk, Six Senses Vana, the global brand's first dedicated wellness retreat in India, is where you go to retrieve yourself: Rest, reset and rejuvenate, the blockbuster RRR of the wellness universe.

time-read
5 mins  |
May 06, 2024