It tells no tale or story.
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Cowsjee Jehangir Mental Hospital
Cowsjee Jehangir Mental Hospital
Rebecca Ursani
BS-II, Roll number: 2K14/MC/81
'I always had a desire to know asylum life more thoroughly - a desire to be convinced that the most helpless of God's creatures, the insane, were cared for kindly and properly'. Nellie Bly.
Mental hospital locally known as Giddu Bandar is situated in Hyderabad, Latifabad. Sir Cowasji Jehangir who was a philanthropist and a civil engineer when he saw some naked people gathered around some trash looking for food to eat. This view provoked him to do something for such kind of human beings and so he established an aslym which was previously named as Mental Asylum and Custodian Care Hospital.
You think you know exactly who and what are mentally disabled people? If yes, think again.
The main entrance, the main gate of the hospital is so giant that it feels like you are entering some royal palace. After walking some distance is the main hall where to the left is registration office and offices of the doctors, to the right is the O.P.D. where the neurotic and psychotic patients are treated. Upstairs is the female ward. Going back to the main ground, there are different wards all around at some walking distance from every ward. There are total eleven wards which include forensic ward, rehabilitation ward, aggresive ward, chronic ward, emergency ward. The patients there are very artistic but alas! we fail to recognize them in person. If anyone wants to see how true and sincere those patients are to their art and their talent they should atleast visit the rehabilitation ward.
The rehabilitation ward is for those patients who are progressing towards being healthy and gaining back their mental ability gradually. Their you will get to see the drawings made by them which are even hard to believe that they are actually made by them.Those drawings are displayed on almost every wall of the ward. The ward has different rooms for watching t.v, for performing artwork that includes the handmade things with colourful beads, buttons, flowers etc. The cells are quite big and the locks of cells are enclosed in a small cavity just beside the door of cell. Rooms for patients are upstairs.
The rehabiltation ward is about seventy four years old and it doesn't seem like it's that old from its outer appearance. The very interesting thing in this ward is that the gatekeeper of this ward is the one who was once a victim of mental illness. Yes. He was also a patient once who is now absolutely perfect and doing job here. There is a psychiatry institute in rehabilitation ward where the students of fcps, mbbs come to learn. As you enter the ward, to the right is the room where students are taught about psychiatry, proceeding forward to the left and downstairs is the library where all sort of books are available that the students need. Upstairs is a big auditorium where the functions are held for patients' entertainment.
All the wards have sufficiently big ground for playing games. Patients are mostly fond of playing cricket and its a wonder how they play it very finely.
The patients there are very humble and kind unless you tease them. The patients in this hospital are treated healthily by making them play games, they have their mental as well as physcal exercises. The patients that are found guilty of committing crime and are sent through court and law are kept in forensic ward. The chronic ward includes the patients who are waif, those who have no family or are abandoned by their families. There are some who have been living here since twenty to twenty five years because they are homeless and that the hospital is their home now.
The best thing about this hospital is it provides free admission, free medication, free nursing and everything free. They treat their patients like their families and not patients. They make sure about their hygiene as well. The patients there will make you smile with their talks because they are so innocent, so pure that you will enjoy their company most likely.
One of the patients had a small conversation with me.
'Salam api, kya haal hain?'
'Main theek Alhamdulilah. Ap sunayen'
'Allah ka shukar hai. Main Karachi se aya hun Navy me kaam karta tha. Is hospital ko ap dekhna kaisa aalishan karke jata hun'
'In shaa Allah, kyun nahi'
'In shaa Allah'
On visiting female ward, you will get to meet females that are interested in showing you their talents, they'll sing songs for you, recite naat and more.
According to Dr. Amir, they are running the hospital very well but the community response is very poor. Our people have their own perception regarding mentally disabled people. Even if the person is mentally well, our society will bite his head off by calling him mental again and again and again. The patients' families deny of accepting them their family members. The main reasons behind this mental illness spreading is that people think that get him married, he will be alright. No. That's not the solution of this problem because if the mental patient gets married, the illness can be spread genetically in his or her next generation.
Our community needs to educate themselves regarding this issue and our youth should think sensibly over it and spread awareness.
This practical work was carried under supervision of Sir Sohail Sangi
BS-II, Roll number: 2K14/MC/81
'I always had a desire to know asylum life more thoroughly - a desire to be convinced that the most helpless of God's creatures, the insane, were cared for kindly and properly'. Nellie Bly.
Mental hospital locally known as Giddu Bandar is situated in Hyderabad, Latifabad. Sir Cowasji Jehangir who was a philanthropist and a civil engineer when he saw some naked people gathered around some trash looking for food to eat. This view provoked him to do something for such kind of human beings and so he established an aslym which was previously named as Mental Asylum and Custodian Care Hospital.
You think you know exactly who and what are mentally disabled people? If yes, think again.
The main entrance, the main gate of the hospital is so giant that it feels like you are entering some royal palace. After walking some distance is the main hall where to the left is registration office and offices of the doctors, to the right is the O.P.D. where the neurotic and psychotic patients are treated. Upstairs is the female ward. Going back to the main ground, there are different wards all around at some walking distance from every ward. There are total eleven wards which include forensic ward, rehabilitation ward, aggresive ward, chronic ward, emergency ward. The patients there are very artistic but alas! we fail to recognize them in person. If anyone wants to see how true and sincere those patients are to their art and their talent they should atleast visit the rehabilitation ward.
The rehabilitation ward is for those patients who are progressing towards being healthy and gaining back their mental ability gradually. Their you will get to see the drawings made by them which are even hard to believe that they are actually made by them.Those drawings are displayed on almost every wall of the ward. The ward has different rooms for watching t.v, for performing artwork that includes the handmade things with colourful beads, buttons, flowers etc. The cells are quite big and the locks of cells are enclosed in a small cavity just beside the door of cell. Rooms for patients are upstairs.
The rehabiltation ward is about seventy four years old and it doesn't seem like it's that old from its outer appearance. The very interesting thing in this ward is that the gatekeeper of this ward is the one who was once a victim of mental illness. Yes. He was also a patient once who is now absolutely perfect and doing job here. There is a psychiatry institute in rehabilitation ward where the students of fcps, mbbs come to learn. As you enter the ward, to the right is the room where students are taught about psychiatry, proceeding forward to the left and downstairs is the library where all sort of books are available that the students need. Upstairs is a big auditorium where the functions are held for patients' entertainment.
All the wards have sufficiently big ground for playing games. Patients are mostly fond of playing cricket and its a wonder how they play it very finely.
The patients there are very humble and kind unless you tease them. The patients in this hospital are treated healthily by making them play games, they have their mental as well as physcal exercises. The patients that are found guilty of committing crime and are sent through court and law are kept in forensic ward. The chronic ward includes the patients who are waif, those who have no family or are abandoned by their families. There are some who have been living here since twenty to twenty five years because they are homeless and that the hospital is their home now.
The best thing about this hospital is it provides free admission, free medication, free nursing and everything free. They treat their patients like their families and not patients. They make sure about their hygiene as well. The patients there will make you smile with their talks because they are so innocent, so pure that you will enjoy their company most likely.
One of the patients had a small conversation with me.
'Salam api, kya haal hain?'
'Main theek Alhamdulilah. Ap sunayen'
'Allah ka shukar hai. Main Karachi se aya hun Navy me kaam karta tha. Is hospital ko ap dekhna kaisa aalishan karke jata hun'
'In shaa Allah, kyun nahi'
'In shaa Allah'
On visiting female ward, you will get to meet females that are interested in showing you their talents, they'll sing songs for you, recite naat and more.
According to Dr. Amir, they are running the hospital very well but the community response is very poor. Our people have their own perception regarding mentally disabled people. Even if the person is mentally well, our society will bite his head off by calling him mental again and again and again. The patients' families deny of accepting them their family members. The main reasons behind this mental illness spreading is that people think that get him married, he will be alright. No. That's not the solution of this problem because if the mental patient gets married, the illness can be spread genetically in his or her next generation.
Our community needs to educate themselves regarding this issue and our youth should think sensibly over it and spread awareness.
This practical work was carried under supervision of Sir Sohail Sangi
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