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He found sanctuary six years ago at a charity for street children, beating his drug habit through its detoxification programme and putting himself on the path to recovery.
Now he earns 4,800 rupees (100 dollars) a month as an assistant chef at a restaurant in the southern city of Chennai and is back in contact with his family.
"I want to become a cook, not an assistant cook. Then I'll probably settle down and marry," he said on a return visit to the charity to talk to children about his experiences.
Mohan, who asked for his real name not to be used, is one of the success stories at the Society Undertaking Poor People's Onus for Rehabilitation -- or SUPPORT for short.
Fifty young boys and 26 girls aged five to 18 are currently living at the charity's Mumbai centres. Thirty youths aged 18 and above are also being given vocational training.
These real-life equivalents of the children in the hit film "Slumdog Millionaire" have all been referred to SUPPORT after being found living on the streets.
Charities working with street children say the scale and the complexity of the problem is huge and becoming more acute as India's population expands and migration to cities increases.
Accurate figures are difficult to come by but India is estimated to have between 18 million and 20 million street children, according to charities and a number of research studies.
The UN has said that up to 250,000 are thought to be living in Mumbai, although Hoshang Irani, a SUPPORT trustee, and others believe that is a gross under-estimation.
"We just can't help everyone," Irani admitted.
Yet non-governmental organisations do what they can with modest resources and funding from business, other charities, individuals and local authority subsidies.
Irani, a former banker, described the causes of drug-addicted street kids as "the usual Oliver Twist story" -- children fleeing physical or sexual abuse, extreme poverty or abandonment.
In Mumbai, some are attracted to the bright lights of Bollywood.
But when reality bites, they can fall in to begging and petty theft to survive.
Loose change -- five rupees (11 US cents) -- buys a single cigarette from roadside stalls while addictive solvents such as glue or "solution" can be bought for about 50 rupees.
Vulnerable young girls can turn to or are more usually forced into sex work, risking violence and disease.
"At that age, they quickly get into drugs and by aged eight to 10, if they're on the streets for a year or two, they're on a cocktail of drugs," said Irani.
One study quoted in the Indian government's latest child protection plan says nearly two-thirds of people who sought treatment for drug use first used narcotics before aged 15. But only a tiny number of children are being helped.
At SUPPORT, many children have to undergo detox and rehabilitation for addiction to cigarettes or solvent abuse. Others have lockjaw from chewing up to 20 packets of gutka a day or used hashish and heroin.
"When the boys come here, they're very obsessive about drugs," said Vrinda Bhere, who works in the charity's tiny medical centre and co-ordinates the 21-day detox programme. "They want to run away or go back on the streets."
Some of the young addicts, especially those taking heroin, are put on sedatives -- substitutes like methadone are not used -- while others are given "diversion" therapy like exercise or television to keep them occupied.
"It's very difficult. Some of the bigger boys are very difficult to handle," said Bhere, who has worked at the charity for 11 years.
Most interventions are successful, although sometimes boys do have to be referred to specialist clinics, she added.
Many of the young boys and girls wear spectacles, their poor eyesight the result of malnutrition or drug use. Others are having psychological counselling or treatment for tuberculosis and even leprosy.
One young boy in a neat school uniform sits cross-legged with others in a circle during a group discussion workshop.
"His mother died of HIV and TB, his father was a drunk. The child doesn't have anybody. He'll remain with us for about 10 to 15 years until he's ready to meet the world outside. It's a very long time," said Irani.
"We create an identity for a child. We sometimes even give a second name to the child because he or she has forgotten."
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Now he earns 4,800 rupees (100 dollars) a month as an assistant chef at a restaurant in the southern city of Chennai and is back in contact with his family.
"I want to become a cook, not an assistant cook. Then I'll probably settle down and marry," he said on a return visit to the charity to talk to children about his experiences.
Mohan, who asked for his real name not to be used, is one of the success stories at the Society Undertaking Poor People's Onus for Rehabilitation -- or SUPPORT for short.
Fifty young boys and 26 girls aged five to 18 are currently living at the charity's Mumbai centres. Thirty youths aged 18 and above are also being given vocational training.
These real-life equivalents of the children in the hit film "Slumdog Millionaire" have all been referred to SUPPORT after being found living on the streets.
Charities working with street children say the scale and the complexity of the problem is huge and becoming more acute as India's population expands and migration to cities increases.
Accurate figures are difficult to come by but India is estimated to have between 18 million and 20 million street children, according to charities and a number of research studies.
The UN has said that up to 250,000 are thought to be living in Mumbai, although Hoshang Irani, a SUPPORT trustee, and others believe that is a gross under-estimation.
"We just can't help everyone," Irani admitted.
Yet non-governmental organisations do what they can with modest resources and funding from business, other charities, individuals and local authority subsidies.
Irani, a former banker, described the causes of drug-addicted street kids as "the usual Oliver Twist story" -- children fleeing physical or sexual abuse, extreme poverty or abandonment.
In Mumbai, some are attracted to the bright lights of Bollywood.
But when reality bites, they can fall in to begging and petty theft to survive.
Loose change -- five rupees (11 US cents) -- buys a single cigarette from roadside stalls while addictive solvents such as glue or "solution" can be bought for about 50 rupees.
Vulnerable young girls can turn to or are more usually forced into sex work, risking violence and disease.
"At that age, they quickly get into drugs and by aged eight to 10, if they're on the streets for a year or two, they're on a cocktail of drugs," said Irani.
One study quoted in the Indian government's latest child protection plan says nearly two-thirds of people who sought treatment for drug use first used narcotics before aged 15. But only a tiny number of children are being helped.
At SUPPORT, many children have to undergo detox and rehabilitation for addiction to cigarettes or solvent abuse. Others have lockjaw from chewing up to 20 packets of gutka a day or used hashish and heroin.
"When the boys come here, they're very obsessive about drugs," said Vrinda Bhere, who works in the charity's tiny medical centre and co-ordinates the 21-day detox programme. "They want to run away or go back on the streets."
Some of the young addicts, especially those taking heroin, are put on sedatives -- substitutes like methadone are not used -- while others are given "diversion" therapy like exercise or television to keep them occupied.
"It's very difficult. Some of the bigger boys are very difficult to handle," said Bhere, who has worked at the charity for 11 years.
Most interventions are successful, although sometimes boys do have to be referred to specialist clinics, she added.
Many of the young boys and girls wear spectacles, their poor eyesight the result of malnutrition or drug use. Others are having psychological counselling or treatment for tuberculosis and even leprosy.
One young boy in a neat school uniform sits cross-legged with others in a circle during a group discussion workshop.
"His mother died of HIV and TB, his father was a drunk. The child doesn't have anybody. He'll remain with us for about 10 to 15 years until he's ready to meet the world outside. It's a very long time," said Irani.
"We create an identity for a child. We sometimes even give a second name to the child because he or she has forgotten."
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